


What Normal Looks Like

by jbn42



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: AU, F/M, Fix-It, M/M, Not broken but bent a little, One didn’t come back, Rogue One rides again, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, because Jyn and Cassian deserved better, non-canon, what’s next
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 44,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22806601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbn42/pseuds/jbn42
Summary: Cassian and Jyn escape Scarif along with several others, but they aren’t unscathed. How will they blaze their own new definition of what normal is?
Relationships: Cassian Andor/Jyn Erso, Chirrut Îmwe/Baze Malbus
Comments: 42
Kudos: 67





	1. From the Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note: So, I’ve wanted to do one of these fix-its for a while now. Let’s see where this ride goes (I have ideas but no outline, so we’ll see). One thing in here may disappoint folks, but it’s how I see it.
> 
> Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.

When the doors to the turbolift open, Cassian hears Jyn tell someone who she is. It takes everything he has left to drag himself towards her voice. He is not going to let her down now. His legs nearly give way underneath him with every step, and he knows that the pain is going to be intense when the adrenaline eases off.

He gets to a pillar, leaning against it to steady his aim as a man in a downright ridiculous cape raises his blaster at Jyn. Cassian fires, hitting the man in the shoulder. He won’t ever admit that he was aiming for the man’s head but that he just couldn’t keep that steady. Jyn’s face lights up, and she limps to the console. He hears a computer’s voice say the word that the file was transmitting, and Jyn’s face glows in triumph. In that moment, she’s the single most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

She runs to his side. “Karking hell, Cassian. How did you even get up here?” Jyn supports Cassian as he starts to crumple to his knees. “Sorry, Captain. No time to rest. We need to get out of here.” She looks at Krennic, crumpled to the deck, and she starts to lunge.

Cassian gently holds her to him. “Leave it.”

She nods and straightens up. “Let’s go.”

He asks her if she thinks anyone is listening, and she says she believes they are as she supports him to the lift, climbing in and letting him slump against the wall as she punches the button to take them to the ground level.

The lift descends, Jyn’s mind racing, trying to imagine what waits for them at the base of the tower. She looks up at Cassian, and he is looking at her as if she radiates the light of all the stars in the sky.

He leans in a bit, but as much as she wants him, knows there is something here, she stops him with a gentle hand to his chest. “I’m not ready to give up yet, Cass.” He quirks a small, pained smile at the nickname, and she says, “I won’t say goodbye to you yet, and I think, in this moment, that would be a goodbye.” She covers his lips with her fingers. “This will keep until we’re safe.”

With intense effort, he raises one hand to cup her cheek. “My Jyn. All right. Until we’re safe.” In the back of his mind, he’s honestly doubtful that they’re getting out of here – but for her, he can pretend just about anything. It’s a thought that surprises him, a thought he’s never really had for anything but the Rebellion itself, for the cause.

When the doors to the lift open, Jyn is shocked that there aren’t any troops. He looks at her and holsters his blaster. She gets Cassian’s arm around her shoulder, and despite the fact that both of her knees are screaming at her from the blast that nearly knocked her off the top of the tower, she takes his weight as they make their way out of the tunnel. “This is a bad sign, isn’t it?” She looks up at his face, pained with every move. “The only people here are dead. The rest are gone.”

He nods slightly. “Yes. They’re evacuated, I bet.”

There’s a flash of light, and then they hear a crash and both look up, simultaneously realizing why the place is evacuated. They see the tower coming down, and Jyn drags them faster, trying to get clear. They get to the edge of the water, dropping down to the sand. He tells her that her father would have been proud, and they hold hands as they watch the horizon disappear. A moment later, they both jump when a Delta Class T-3c Imperial shuttle drops into their line of vision.

The ramp opens, and they’re both stunned to see a dark-haired man in Rebel gear waving them towards the ship. “Come the hells on, Andor! We have no time! No time!”

Cassian recognizes the man as Kes Dameron, a Pathfinder and not part of the original Rogue One team. “Go, Jyn.” He lets Jyn drag him up and they limp to the ramp. The moment they’re on it, Dameron whacks the wall of the ship, and the ramp closes slowly, letting them slide in relatively gently as the ship jolts away from the planet.

Jyn looks around, and, in addition to several injured and uninjured Rebel soldiers she doesn’t know, she sees Melshi, unconscious but alive. Next to him, she sees two more figures being tended by medics, and she has to choke back a sob when she sees that it’s Chirrut and Baze. Chirrut’s skin is deathly pale, and he’s unconscious. Baze is conscious, but Jyn can see that he’s fading in and out.

Cassian’s eyes had followed Jyn’s around the cabin of the rather fancy shuttle they’re on, but he’s snapped to attention when Dameron says, “Captain?”

He blinks, and Jyn stiffens next to him. “And Sergeant Jyn Erso,” he uses the rank given to her by Sefla before they landed on Scarif, “Sergeant Dameron, who is piloting?”

Kes looks towards the front of the ship, and he shrugs. “I don’t know his name, but he’s the one who saved us all – found me and the others alive, some injured, and we got to this ship. The big guy,” he motions to Baze, “Said he’s good. Lanky, pony tail, keeps muttering about being the pilot.”

Jyn and Cassian both gasp softly, and after giving them a strange look, Kes adds, “He has some nasty burns that need bacta, but we have to get out of here alive first. He’s the only pilot we have except you, Andor, and you’re also our ranking officer.”

The man looks at Cassian, and then he exchanges a knowing glance with Jyn. There’s no way Cassian can make it to the cockpit. An explosion rocks the ship, and Jyn pushes herself up. “Dameron, stay with Captain Andor, and get that medic to him. He can barely stand. He had a hell of a fall, probably damage to his ribs and back.”

Cassian glares at her, a betrayed look in his eyes, but she leans down to him. “Cassian, I need to go see if I can help Bodhi. Please stay here and let them check on you.”

He holds her gaze for a moment. Everything in him is screaming at him to stay with her, to go help her help Bodhi. Then, he sighs. He knows she’s right. “Go, Jyn. Help him.” He looks around at the shuttle. “Tell him not to go back to Yavin IV right now. It’s too much of a target and we’re possibly being tracked. We could also get shot down. Tell him to set course for Takodana.” He pauses, catching her eye. “But this is still not goodbye.”

Tears well in her eyes, and she nods. “I know. It’s not.” She leans in and briefly presses her forehead to his. “Not giving up. Not yet, not ever, not while we’re still breathing.” The words feel alien to her, foreign on her lips. She hasn’t trusted anyone fully since she was little, but she trusts him. That idea terrifies her. She also knows that while she means it about Cassian and her new friends, she’s not sure how she feels about the Alliance. She certainly will never trust Davits Draven.

Without another word, she swallows hard, straightens, and limps towards the cockpit. Dameron stops her and hands her a small bucket of supplies. When she gives him a funny look, he motions towards the front. “For the pilot. For his burns.”

“Bodhi Rook, of Jedha. The pilot’s name is Bodhi Rook.” She motions to Chirrut and Baze. “Chirrut Îmwe and Baze Malbus, Guardians of the Whills, also of Jedha.” She catches Dameron’s eye, and he nods.

With that, she turns and continues to limp to Bodhi. When she gets to the cockpit, she’s dismayed by the carnage in the viewport. She can hear a familiar chant coming from the pilot’s seat. “Bodhi?”

He breaks off from repeating, “I’m the pilot,” glances at her, and she gasps. Half of his face is livid red, and she can see that he’s favoring his right side. “J-Jyn? Did you do it?”

She nods, settling into the co-pilot’s seat. “We did it. Me and Cassian, but really all of us. We transmitted the plans. The rest is up to the Rebels.” She looks at the controls. “I’m not much use here, but direct me and I can help you. Cassian said to head for Takodana, that Yavin 4 is too hot. And once we’re at lightspeed, I need to figure out how to sweep this bastard for bugs and trackers.”

“I def-definitely can use the he-help.” Bodhi keeps his eyes to the front, dodging debris that is clearly the wreckage of multiple ships as well as the shield generator.

“What do you need?” Jyn surveys the controls. “I’m sorry it’s just me. Cassian is hurt and can’t get up here right now.”

“You-you’re more than enough, Jyn.” He begins to direct her in a soft voice. She follows his instructions, amazed at how calm he is and how well he explains what he needs, all while keeping them in the air and alive. More than once, Jyn jumps with a squeak, but Bodhi stays calm other than again softly saying, “I’m the pilot, I’m the pilot.”

The interesting part is that while there is debris, no one fires on them. Jyn isn’t sure why not. She fears that the reason is something she doesn’t want to know, that they all have a different target. Eventually, they make the jump to lightspeed, a gentle jolt. Bodhi slumps back in his seat, hissing in pain. “We have at least half a day. I can tell you where the scanner is, but I already shut down the internal tracking system from here.”

Jyn nods, and she stands up. “Hold still, Bo.” She opens the medkit. “How bad are the burns?”

He winces. “Worst is my face, neck, and right forearm. Flash burns from the-the grenade that destroyed Rogue One. Guess this is Rogue One now?”

She has to smile at that. “Makes sense to me. Anything other than the burns? And is it all right for me to call you Bo?”

He nods slightly, wincing at the cool touch as she spreads bacta over his burns. “Shoulder popped out in the explosion. I popped it back in. I hurt it when I was a kid, n-now it dislocates easily. And y-yes. It’s g-good. I like it.”

Jyn cringes in sympathy about the shoulder. “Sling?” He softly agrees, and, after putting a soft bandage over the treated burns, she gently fashions a sling for him out of a strip of cotton fabric she found in the medkit. “I found a painkiller in the kit that you can take without going too fuzzy. Can I give that to you?”

After a moment’s hesitation, he nods. “Yes, b-but only once. I need to be clear when we land.” Once Jyn has done all she can, he points to a cabinet near the cockpit with his good arm. “There should be a scanner in there. If there’s a tracker on the outside, we’ll have to land to get it off. I’d guess, though, that the transponder I deactivated is all there is. Chances are that they won’t be looking for us – they likely are in disarray, and they-they-they probably assume that this ship was destroyed.”

Jyn nods, and she puts a gentle hand to the uninjured side of his face. “You did well, Bodhi. You saved us all. My father would be so grateful to you.” He blinks back tears, and she drops her hand. “Are you really all right, Bo? I can stay here if you need me to.” He gives her a funny look, and she feels as bad as she’s felt in a long time. “I thought about it. It was Bor Gullet, wasn’t it? Saw really did that to you?””

Bodhi closes his eyes, and Jyn doesn’t touch him – she’s afraid that doing so will panic him. “I’m so sorry, Bodhi. That thing is pure kriffing evil. I’m so, so sorry.”

“I’m all right, J-Jyn. It was Cass-Cassian who saved me, gave me the words to focus on. I’m not sure he even realized it, though g-given his l-line of work, he might’ve known.” He opens his eyes and gives her a weak smile. “I’m the pilot.”

She hugs him then. “You’re far more than that, Bodhi Rook.” She leans back. “I’m going to go scan and check on the others. Call if you need help again, all right, or if you need a break?”

“I’ll be fine, J-Jyn. I can nap here. The seat is good, and being upright is best for my sh-shoulder.” He smiles faintly.

With a terse nod, Jyn grabs the scanner, looking for any errant signals as she moves through the ship as well as she can, her knees both screaming at her. She thinks she’s just sore, though she can tell they’re both a little swollen. Working from the highest point she can reach in the ship, she scans everything. The only signal she finds is in a space that looks to be officer’s quarters.

There is a datapad on the desk, and it’s blinking on and off. She considers trying to slice it, but she wants the beacon to stop. If she can’t open it fast, she’ll destroy it. She taps the screen, and she rolls her eyes. “Really? What an arrogant nerfherder.”

There is literally no security on the datapad. On it, she sees a blinking beacon icon named “transponder,” so she taps that. Seconds later, the signal goes off. She’s about to put the thing aside when something catches her eye. The words “Project Stardust” jump out at her, but the file is encrypted. She holds the datapad and picks up the scanner, doing a quick survey of the room. She looks around, and suddenly, she barks out an incredulous laugh.

Wasting no more time, she leaves the quarters while shaking her head. She quickly scans the rest of the ship, but there are no more signals. She heads towards the hold, her knees growing weaker with every single step.

X X X X X X X X

Moments after Jyn leaves to help Bodhi, Cassian is worried. They’re maneuvering well, but Cassian can tell that they’re not being fired upon, and he guesses it’s because everyone is focused elsewhere. Dameron helped him over to the others a short while ago, and he’s now situated on a blanket, sitting against the wall in a corner for support. They wanted him to recline, but this position puts less pressure on his ribs. The medic comes over to him. “Sir, what are your injuries?”

Cassian grunts. “Blaster burn on my right shoulder, bounced off struts when I fell down the inside of the citadel tower. Fell a few stories, think I landed hard on my left hip and side. First hit was to my upper back, second to my chest and chin. Definitely some cracked ribs, maybe broken. And something is wrong with my back. I can feel everything, but I can’t control it well, especially my legs.”

The medic looks stunned. “Did you lose consciousness, sir?”

Cassian nods and winces at the movement. The adrenaline is wearing off and almost everything hurts. He even thinks his hair hurts. “Briefly. Blacked out when I hit the second strut. No more than a few minutes, and my head isn’t hurting. It may be the only thing that isn’t. I’ve had a fair number of concussions, but I don’t think I have one now.”

“Any trouble breathing?” The medic holds his gaze.

“No, not so far. Deep breaths don’t feel great to my ribs, but that aside, I am able to breathe pretty normally.” He’s honest with the man; he knows that he can’t and likely shouldn’t try to bluff his way out of this.

“All right, sir.” The medic opens an Imperial medkit. “At least we stole a good ship. Med supplies are top-notch on this one.” He helps Cassian gently ease his shirt off, and the medic swears softly. The blaster wound is black, but thankfully not deep. It’s Cassian’s torso, though, mottled with darkening bruises, that clearly shocks the man.

Before he does anything else, the medic grabs an injector and gives Cassian a painkiller. Cassian knows what it was because the relief is nearly immediate, letting him relax slightly. It usually would have made him angry, but it’s not the time for that. “Thank you, but please ask me first next time.”

“Of course. Sergeant?” Kes comes over. “Help me sit him up, gently please.”

Kes nods and helps support Cassian as the medic wraps bacta patches around Cassian’s battered upper body. The medic then dabs bacta over the blaster wound and bandages it. Kes wraps an extra blanket around Cassian’s shoulders, and they ease him back against the wall. When they’re done, despite the painkiller, Cassian breathes out slowly. “Mierda, that hurt.” He is still hyper-sensitive, and he feels the moment they jump to lightspeed.

“I bet.” The medic eyes him. “The bacta will help a little, but you need a tank, sir, and maybe surgery. For now, your vitals are stable, but you need to stay as still as possible to avoid further damage to your back. I’m hoping the stable vitals means no internal damage, but if you do have a splintered rib or other bone in there, big movements could cause more damage, especially internal.”

“What about the others? Melshi, Baze, and Chirrut?” Cassian looks over at his friends, old and new.

“Touch and go for all of them, sir. Are we heading for the base? We need tanks. Based on triage, Melshi is the worst off, then Chirrut, then Baze, then you, unless something changes. You’re the only one even slightly able to tell me how you are.”

“We can’t go to Yavin 4. We don’t know if there are trackers on this ship, and the Alliance might shoot us down before we can hail them.” He sighs. “We’re going to Takodana. Maz Kanata is there, and she will help – she doesn’t directly rebel, but she has no love of the Empire and has loyalty to the Organa family. We may also be able to sell this Force-foresaken ship and get something a little more nondescript to take us home.”

Jyn suddenly limps into the hold, and her eyes lock with Cassian’s across the room. “It’s that bastard’s ship! That cape-wearing piece of bantha fodder. It’s his!”

She crosses the hold, barely making it to Cassian’s side before her knees finally give out. “I scanned the ship. We’re clean now. No trackers.” She tries to stretch out her legs and gasps. “Kriff. That hurts.”

Cassian looks alarmed. “What hurts? You’ve been limping, Jyn.” He motions the medic over. “Something is wrong with her legs.”

The man pulls her boots off before Jyn can protest. It’s a testament to her fatigue that she doesn’t attack him. He rolls up her right pant leg and breathes out a curse. He goes to the other leg and does the same. Both knees are swollen and mottled with bruises. “Sergeant, how have you been walking?”

She shrugs. “Adrenaline and determination?”

Cassian snorts and rolls his eyes. “Jyn, you should have let Dameron do the scan at least.”

“It was fine, Cass. And we’re safely at lightspeed. Will take half a day to get to Takodana.” She hisses as the medic puts a bacta wrap around her right knee. “What’s your name?”

The man peers up at her. “Aari Eriston.”

“Take it a bit easier, Aari.” She lifts an eyebrow at him.

He frowns. “Sergeant, I’m pretty sure both of your knees are sprained, the right one badly. I could barely touch you and it would still hurt.”

He goes back to wrapping her legs, moving to the left one, and she has to admire his grit. Most people wilt under her glares. He finishes with her knees. He puts a rolled-up towel under them to give her some cushion, and then he hands her another blanket. Before she can shoo him away, he doses her with a mild painkiller as he had Cassian. She glares even harder, but he just says, “You two get some rest.”

The painkiller paired with her recent lack of sleep suddenly sneaks up on Jyn, and she can tell that Cassian is fading, too. “Dameron!” She motions Kes over.

“What’s up, Erso?” Kes squats down in front of them, making Jyn cringe and shift uncomfortably.

She looks up at him. “Kes, can you check on Bodhi now and then? No touching him if he’s not really aware of your presence.”

“I can, Sergeant.” Kes reaches out and squeezes her shoulder before standing and heading back to the others.

She turns towards Cassian, snuggling into him carefully, head dropping to his shoulder. She surveys the room. “I don’t know how to do this, Cassian, how to need you and them.” She gestures helplessly towards the cockpit and towards Chirrut and Baze. “Everyone leaves me. If I don’t have people, people can’t leave me.”

“We won’t. Not if we can help it.” Cassian’s voice is soft, and he knows deep down that she is going to understand what he means when he says, “You’ve surprised me, Jyn. You have no idea how much. I don’t get close to anyone. Now I have a strange, determined family. I am still processing that idea.”

“I know precisely what you mean.” She moves a little closer. “Is this all right? I’m not hurting you?”

“No. You’re not hurting me.” He wants to wrap an arm around her, pull her into his side, but he knows that actually will hurt. So, her head on his shoulder will have to be enough for now.

“Cassian, I’m sorry about Kay. Sorrier than I can say, really.” Her voice is so small and sad, and it echoes how thinking of Kay makes him feel.

“I appreciate that. He would like knowing that he’s mourned.” He pauses. “He was my best friend. I know that’s messed up – to have your best friend be a droid – but it’s the truth.”

“It’s not messed up. He died for you, for us.” She finds his hand in their little corner, taking it with hers and entwining their fingers. “And he wasn’t just a droid, Cassian.”

He squeezes her hand, not saying anything. He’s not sure what he can say without falling apart a little, and it’s honestly not the time or place for that. For now, he’s just going to enjoy the feeling of Jyn holding his hand, of being alive, and of knowing that someone understands.

Before she drops off, Jyn softly says, “When we wake up and before we land at Maz’s, I need to tell you about my last time there. Maz may remember me.”

He snorts even as he feels her slump against him. “I can’t imagine anyone forgetting you, Jyn.”

The mild vibration of the ship combined with the medic’s painkiller lull Cassian to sleep. He’d assumed he’d never have another living, breathing peaceful moment like this after Scarif. Holding Jyn’s hand, he’s not sure he’s ever been more grateful to be wrong.

X X X X X X X X

Jyn runs along the edge of the black sand on Lah’mu, the cold water nipping at her feet. She can feel her braids slap against her shoulders as she runs, and she laughs at the freedom she feels. She’s running towards her parents, and her father has his arms stretched out to her.

Out of nowhere, a large Delta Class Imperial shuttle appears, and a bolt of light flares out. Her father disintegrates before her eyes, and she and her mother both scream. Her mother holds a blaster, and she starts to fire on the ship. Jyn stops running, frantically looking for something to use as a weapon as Stormtroopers flood off of the ship. Jyn screams again as the Stormtroopers fire on her mother, cutting her down instantly.

Jyn sits up suddenly, reaching for a blaster and gulping for air. She looks around frantically when she can’t find a weapon, taking in her surroundings. It’s dark, and there are people sleeping everywhere. She sees a person right next to her, and her brain supplies a name – Cassian – he’s sound asleep in the corner, his brow furrowed in what appears to be pain.

“Hey.” A mostly unfamiliar voice makes her turn, fists raised defensively. “Whoa.” There’s a man in front of her, hands raised in a non-threatening way. He has black hair, a Rebel uniform, and kind, expressive eyes. “Sergeant Erso, Jyn, you’re all right. No one is going to hurt you.”

She blinks. “Where is my blaster?”

He smirks. “Lieutenant Rook warned me that you might get aggressive if you woke up disoriented. It’s right here.” He motions to the blaster, on the floor behind him and out of her reach. His expression softens. “You’re safe, Sergeant.”

She takes a deep breath, trying to calm her heartbeat. In a moment, her head clears. “Sergeant Dameron.”

He nods, clearly satisfied that she’s all right and herself again. He drops back down next to her. “It’s just Kes, and how are your knees?”

She tentatively moves her legs, and she’s happy to note that while sore, they are improving. The swelling is also down. “Better. Can I have my blaster now, please?”

He grins. “Only if you behave.”

Something pings in her mind. “Are you flirting with me?”

He blinks, shaking his head quickly. “Sorry, no. Not at all.” He hands her the blaster and pulls back right away.

She isn’t sure what to make of his reaction. “Not at all? Well, that’s flattering.”

He rolls his eyes. “I didn’t mean it that way. Well, no, I did mean it that way, but it’s not an insult.” He rubs his hand across his eyes, and Jyn suddenly notices a band on his left hand. “I have a bad habit of teasing people at the wrong time.”

She holsters the blaster. “It’s all right. And it’s Jyn.” She reaches out and taps his ring, lifting an eyebrow. “Is that how you meant it?”

He relaxes slightly, but Jyn bets that the joking exterior is a mask for someone who is always tightly coiled, ready to fight. He smiles again, this smile so gentle and personal that Jyn almost looks away. “Yeah. My full introduction is Kes Dameron, husband of the best and most beautiful pilot in the Rebellion, Lieutenant Shara Bey. So, nothing personal, Jyn, but no, not flirting at all.”

“Was she part of the fight, in the air above Scarif?” She regrets the question almost instantly when he pales.

“No. She was on an assignment.” He frowns. “Or at least I think so. But she’s going to think I’m dead, I’m afraid. Most everyone who landed on Scarif is.”

A rough voice makes them both jump. “We’ll get word back as soon as we can, Kes.” Cassian tries to move, but he feels stiff and his legs are even less cooperative. “Kriff. But someone else may have to handle the message. No way am I getting to Comms like this.” Jyn looks at him, eyes wide. He shrugs lightly, trying to not telegraph how scared he is right now. “We know I need time in a tank, Jyn.”

She furrows her brow, and they can both sense when Kes moves away, giving them some privacy. “Can you still feel your legs, Cassian? Can you move them at all?”

He concentrates hard, and he notices Jyn moving. She touches different places on his legs, and he’s intensely relieved that he can feel every touch, nodding stiffly each time. He shifts slightly, then looks at his feet. After a moment of intense focus, he’s able to twitch both of them, but that’s all he can manage.

It’s good enough for Jyn, though, who releases a breath. “That’s good.”

He agrees. Wanting to think about something else, he peers at her. “So, why is Maz going to remember you?”

“Have you been to her place before?” Jyn leans against his arm again. At his nod, she says, “Well, you may know that she doesn’t allow fighting.”

He snorts. “And you’re not so good at avoiding fighting?”

“Got it in one. But in my defense, the guy I took a swing at pinched my ass and made a pretty disgusting remark. I was blonde then, so while Maz may spot me, not many others would.” She shrugs. “How are you so calm right now?”

Her abrupt change of subject startles him. He sighs, staring at his mostly useless, at least for now, feet. “I’m scared to death. I don’t want to be unable to work. I need to work.”

She feels a tremor go through him. “Cassian, I’m sure there are other ways you can contribute to the cause.”

“Maybe so, but I hope they won’t be necessary.” He looks down at her. “We make a good team though, good partners.”

She shakes her head. “I’m no spy, Cassian. But I’m a pretty effective enforcer and fighter.”

“Maybe that’s what I need.” He gives her a pointed look.

She hesitates. “Do you have a backup for Kay? He was a far better partner for you.”

“Yes.” Any hope that rises in her chest, any idea of stealing a KX droid for him, fades as he continues, “But only for the records. He knew just as I did that it’s not as simple as uploading memories and patterns. His reprogramming changed his base operating systems. He was completely unique. Even if I could remember exactly how I managed to reprogram him the first time, a new model wouldn’t be Kay. It would be a different KX-series with memory banks from Kay, you know? He was a true AI – that’s a lot more than memories.”

She wants to argue, but she understands what he’s saying. “I’m really sorry, Cassian. Does your homeworld have any rituals for death? We can honor him. I’d help you do that.” She’s surprised at herself. She hasn’t given much thought to the fallen for some time. There was no room for that under Saw, and there was even less room for that when she was doing what she had to in order to survive.

He takes a rattling breath. “I’d like that. Maybe not anything from Fest, but if we could get Rogue One together, those of us still here, and have a memorial, that would be good. We should actually do it for all of the members of Rogue One that we lost.”

She nods. “We’ll do that, then.” Cassian shifts, and Jyn sees him wince. “Is the pain getting worse? We can get you meds.”

“Save anything we have for the more severely wounded. If Maz doesn’t have a tank, Bodhi may need it to get us home, and Baze, Chirrut, and Melshi are all worse off than I am.” He grimaces.

“Bantha fodder.” She motions to the medic. “Aari? The captain needs another shot of pain meds.” She looks back at Cassian. “They may need bacta sooner than you do, but they are blissfully unaware except Bodhi. Even Baze is out now. You need the meds, Cassian. We need you able to focus on something other than not screaming in pain.”

The medic gets to them, an injector ready. “Captain, can I have your permission this time?”

Cassian stares at Jyn, trying to get her to back down. After a moment, without blinking, her entire demeanor changes. It’s as if she’s incredulously saying, “Really?” without actually speaking.

He chuckles and shakes his head. “Go ahead, Aari.” He’s never met anyone who can crack his façade, and she does it without even trying. As a spy, he knows that should make him uncomfortable, but it doesn’t. He knows, though, that what he was saying earlier is true – they’re good partners. He doesn’t necessarily need another spy as a partner. He needs support – a team. He has a feeling that this last adventure, the damage to his back, may make that even more true than ever.

The medic applies the medicine, and he begins to relax again. Jyn can clearly tell. “See? Nerfherder.”

Aari turns to her. “Sergeant, I’d like to check your knees.”

She nods. They’re still sore, but nothing like before. “These look much better. I’m going to do another round of bacta wraps, but after that, it’s just pressure wraps and taking it easy for a while. I’ll be right back.”

The medic moves over to the medkit. As they wait, Jyn remembers something. “Cass, this is Krennic’s ship.” She grabs the datapad and hands it to Cassian. “This has a file on Project Stardust, and there is a closet full of those karking capes in the officer’s quarters.”

He looks at the datapad. “The file is encrypted.” He glances at her. “What did you mean when you said you knew it was the right file because it was you?”

She swallows hard. “My father called me Stardust.” She wrings her hands in her lap. “It was like he knew for certain that I’d come looking, that I’d be the one to find it.”

“He believed in you, Jyn, and he wasn’t wrong to do so. You proved that.” He covers her hands with his.

The medic comes back, and he makes quick work of re-wrapping Jyn’s knees. She looks at him. “I need to go check in on Bodhi. Am I all right to walk if I’m careful?”

“Yes.” The man looks reluctant. “But you must be careful. As it is, you’ll recover without a tank. If you mess them up worse than they are now, you’ll have to get your dunking as well.”

“Thank you, Aari.” She looks over at the others. “Chirrut, Baze, and Melshi are all still unconscious?”

The man nods. “You’re welcome, and yes. But they’d be in serious pain otherwise, so it’s a blessing.”

“Aari,” Cassian addresses him, “Sergeant Erso is going to step out in a moment – can you come back in a moment to help me with something?”

The medic looks confused for a moment, but Cassian is oddly reticent to say in front of Jyn that he needs to pee and needs help figuring out how to manage that. She must sense that something is up, and after a moment, she smirks a little and ducks her head.

She then looks back at the medic. “Get some rest yourself after you help Cassian.” She gives him a stern look.

He laughs and heads back to the others to wait for Jyn to leave. Cassian looks at her. “Go check on Bodhi, and if we’re close, get Dameron. You and he can call Maz. I’ll stay here with the datapad, see if I can slice it.”

She nods. “All right. What name should I use?”

“Willix. She’ll know that name. Who are you there, by the way?” He lifts an eyebrow at her.

“Nari McVee.” She pushes up from the floor, pulling herself up using the wall as support. Her knees still ache, but she’s pleased by how the shooting pain is gone and by the fact that she feels mostly steady. She reaches down and tousles Cassian’s hair. He tries to bat her away, but he does so half-heartedly. “I’ll be back.”

He nods, waving her off. She looks around the space again, and she’s struck by a wave of fear, but it’s not like it used to be. This is fear that drives her protective instincts, not her usual fear, that which drives self-preservation. After a stop in the fresher, she gingerly limps to the cockpit, and when she gets there, she feels that wave of protectiveness again. She sits in the seat next to Bodhi, and she’s relieved to see that he’s asleep.

She watches him sleep for a while, and then she turns her eyes ahead, watching the stars streak by at lightspeed. Her mind wanders to the dream she had earlier. It has been years since she dreamt about either of her parents. She knows that recent events have brought a lot of things up to the surface. It occurs to her that this, absurdly, may be the first time she’s felt even moderately safe in years.

She’s not sure if it’s Cassian or Bodhi or even silly Kes Dameron so completely in love with his wife, but it feels normal and safe. She snorts softly, muttering, “As if you know what normal looks like.”

“Hmm? Jyn?” Bodhi blinks awake.

Jyn furrows her brow. “Sorry, Bodhi. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

He shakes his head, immediately checking all of the monitors. “It’s all right. We-we are going to drop out of lightspeed in a few minutes anyway. The alarm was about to go off.”

She nods and then they both jump at the sound of another voice. “Almost there?” She looks back to see Dameron has come up behind them.

She glares. “How did you manage to get up here without making any noise?”

He shrugs and just says, “Pathfinder.” When she gives him a funny look, he explains, “SpecOps ground forces. Good at sneaking in and making a bit of a mess when a mess is needed.” He cocks his head at her and smirks. “You’d actually make a good one.”

She takes that as the compliment that she knows it is, and she nods. “Yes, we’re coming up on Takodana.”

They drop out of lightspeed, and Kes says, “Try this frequency to hail Maz,” and he rattles off a sequence.

As Bodhi enters the frequency, Jyn looks at him in surprise. “You know Maz?”

“Are there any people who don’t know Maz?” He counters.

“Good point, but I bet Bodhi doesn’t.” Jyn shrugs.

“You-you’d win that bet. Channel is open.” Bodhi looks at her.

Before Jyn can hail, she hears a familiar scratchy voice. “Who is coming to my home in that Imperial Ship, and how did you get this frequency?”

Kes leans in. “Greetings, Pirate Queen. I do believe you asked me to not be a stranger, gave me this frequency in case I ever needed a favor after my lovely wife and I helped eradicate the womp rats that some idiot smuggler brought here by accident.”

“Dameron!” Kes grins at Jyn when Maz answers.

“Yes ma’am. And I have some friends in need of serious medical attention. One of them is here to talk to you. Her name is –”

Before Kes can say her name, Jyn says, anxiety that Maz will turn her away roiling in her gut, “Nari, Maz. It’s Nari McVee. I know I caused trouble last time. I promise to behave if none of your patrons pinch my ass this time.”

“Nari, my girl. No hard feelings. I didn’t know about the pinch until after I tossed you, so I owe you one too.” Maz sounds contrite, and Jyn’s anxiety notches down.

“No worries, Maz. Whatever the cause, I broke your rules. We have some people in need of bacta tanks, and we want to sell this karking shuttle, get something a little less noticeable.”

“I can help you with all of that, child, but who is ‘we?’” Maz sounds curious.

Jyn swallows hard. “Willix and several others. Willix is one of four who need the tank.”

“Is that why he’s not on the comms?” Maz’s curiosity turns to concern.

“Sort of. He’s conscious, but we’ll need four stretchers, and one is for him. He took a bad fall, and he can’t really walk right now. We want to be cautious. Our other three patients need the bacta more, though, two of them critically.” Jyn sighs. “Where should we put down, Maz?”

Maz rattles off coordinates and promises to get the stretchers together. “I have you coming in to a secluded entrance to the palace. It’s underground, where I keep my medical bay. I imagine you want to be low profile. Don’t leave anything you need on the ship. I can have my people move it so that it doesn’t draw undue attention.”

“Got it.” Jyn pauses and adds softly, “Thank you, Maz.”

“No problem, kiddo. I owe Willix one too. See you soon.” The line goes quiet then.

After a moment, Jyn says, “Thank the Force.”

Kes squeezes her shoulder. “I’ll go let everyone know to get ready.”

Bodhi takes the ship down, and Jyn looks over at him. “Do you need to use an alias?”

He shakes his head. “I-I don’t think so.”

“And how are you? How are the burns?” She furrows her brow.

“Much better. The bacta salves helped a-a lot.” He looks at Jyn. “Nari?”

She laughs softly, sitting back in the co-pilot’s seat. “Long story. Take us in, Bo.”

He nods. “Yes ma’am.”


	2. Healing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They all start to heal, Cassian has an idea, and they get terrible news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Maz is awesome. And I’ve never used an OC this much – hope he’s not too annoying. He’s just a necessary plot device; as for the other lesser-used character, if you’ve read my Damerey stuff, you know I love me some Kes.
> 
> Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.

As Bodhi settles their ship at the coordinates Maz supplied, Kes goes down to tell the others what is going on. Kes and the medic, Aari, are in the best shape of anyone on the ship, but many of the others they saved, two other ground troops from the second wave, are mostly all right. Kes told Jyn before he went down that he’s going to put the two uninjured troops on patrol near the entrance Maz directed them to.

Jyn scans the area for anyone who looks hostile, but all she can see is the entrance Maz mentioned and what look like both droid and sentient medics. Jyn is actually relieved that the hover stretchers are all manned by the 2-1B medic droids. As far as Jyn is concerned, the fewer people who know they’re here, the better.

“Can you help me with sh-shutdown?” Bodhi looks at her.

With a nod, she replies, “Just tell me what to do.” He walks her through it, and once they’re done with all but the systems they need to open doors and keep the lights on, Jyn offers him her hand. “Let me help you out, Bo. I can see that you’re exhausted.”

He nods, taking her hand with his good one. “We can help each other.” He eyes her. “Aari told me about your knees.”

She rolls her eyes, but they do sort of lean on each other as they come out of the cockpit. They make their way down as the patients in the hold are all loaded and gone. Cassian is last, and Aari and Kes are standing by him talking to Maz. Jyn locks eyes with Cassian. He looks, for the first time since she met him, terrified. When they get closer, Jyn understands why. Aari, Maz, and Kes are trying to think about how to get Cassian on the stretcher without risking further harm to his back.

Bodhi squeezes her hand. “G-go sit with him Jyn. He looks like me right now. It feels very out of place on him.”

Jyn looks up at Bodhi and smiles faintly. “Thanks, Bodhi. Let them take you inside – they can help more with your shoulder and the burns.”

He nods, and a 2-1B droid comes over. “You require assistance. May I assist?”

Bodhi lets the droid lead him off of the ship as Jyn goes to Cassian and settles next to him, taking his hand and holding it tight. “You all right? You don’t look all right.”

He sighs. “If they don’t keep my back straight, they’re worried it could do more damage. They can raise the pad on the stretcher so I stay sitting up, but getting me onto it is the problem.”

“Hey, kiddo.” Jyn looks up to see Maz in front of her. The tiny woman leans down, hugging Jyn. “Are you injured too?”

Jyn nods slightly. “Hi, Maz. And sprained knees from an explosion. Otherwise all right outside of superficial cuts and bruises.”

“Good.” Maz turns to Cassian and puts on her glasses. “You, Mr. Willix, are a greater issue.”

“Sorry, Maz.” Cassian shrugs. “I’d love to not be.”

“I know.” She tousles his hair much like Jyn had earlier. “Despite the hand-wringing of these two, we have to move you. I can’t very well bring the tank in here. I have three. When your Mr. Malbus is done, he probably only needs a few hours, in you go. Mr. Eriston here,” she motions to Aari, the medic, “Is going to scan you. Since you have sensation, he thinks it may just be swelling. If that’s the case, the bacta will do wonders, and you’ll be on your feet quickly.”

“If it’s not?” Cassian gives her a hard look.

Maz doesn’t flinch. “We’ll deal with that if we have to.”

Cassian nods. “Let’s just do this, Maz. I can’t sit here forever.”

He sounds braver than he feels. Cassian’s mind is racing, and it’s taking a lot of his training to not simply vibrate out of his skin with fear. He was surprised, though, when Jyn took his hand. It settled him almost immediately. “All right, kiddo.”

Jyn squeezes his hand and releases it as Kes comes over, offering his hands. “Need some help, Sarge?”

She takes them, and he pulls her to her feet with surprising gentleness. “Thanks, Kes.”

“Anytime, Nari.” He lets go of her hands and goes around to Cassian. “Will, you’re going to be all right. We’ve got this. We’re not going to mess it up.”

Cassian looks at Kes. He’s never really been close to anyone in the Rebellion – friends can be weaknesses. But Dameron is relentlessly friendly and would always seek Cassian out when on base, just to grab a drink or join the Pathfinders for dinner. Kes is one of the ones who helped him create a network of people on base who, while not strictly friends, were people Cassian trusted well enough to spend some downtime around them. Cassian swallows hard. “Thank you, Kes.”

“It’s nothing.” He smirks. “Shara worries about you. She’ll kick my ass if I break you.”

Cassian snorts, but he also relaxes a little more. Dameron may play the fool sometimes, but Cassian knows that the joking demeanor is a cover, not unlike those that Cassian himself employs (though admittedly none of his covers are lighthearted). The lightness seems to be Kes’s way (along with just being around Shara) of combating the darkness he’s seen. Jyn stands back as Aari comes to Cassian’s other side and two of the 2-1Bs come over to assist.

Keeping as still and relaxed as he can, he lets Kes and Aari support his upper body while the droids take most of his weight lifting him. A moment later, a third droid slides the stretcher under him, and then he’s able to settle back into the same position he’d had against the wall. The droid brings the stretcher up to hover, and Jyn approaches immediately, putting a hand on each leg near the ankle. She locks eyes with him and squeezes each ankle in turn.

He knows what she’s doing, and he’s grateful. He can feel her squeeze each leg, and he nods, letting his anxiety ratchet back down. She comes up to the head of the stretcher, pressing her forehead to his. “You’re going to be fine.” His hand comes up to her face, and he holds her to him with his hand on her cheek.

Kes and Aari step away with the extra droids. Cassian doesn’t respond, just enjoys the quiet moment before the droid guiding the stretcher says they need to go. Jyn steps back and watches them go. Maz stands there, watching the scene. “Where is that grouchy droid of his?”

Jyn is silent for a moment as she blinks back tears. “Kay didn’t make it.”

“Ach. I’m sorry. I’ll tell him so, too.” Maz peers up at her through her thick lenses. “You know, kiddo, I’ve known that one for years, and he’s never shown fear or affection – well, maybe odd affection for Kay. But he just showed both to you in under five minutes.”

Jyn looks at her, feeling defensive. “And?”

“And nothing. Well done. No one has to be as alone as both of you were.” Maz comes over and takes her arm. “Come on, kiddo, let’s go get those knees tended to.” Jyn’s about to follow when she remembers the datapad. She grabs it, holding it tight to her. Then, she lets Maz lead her from the ship.

X X X X X X X X

After one of Maz’s people has scanned Jyn’s knees and re-wrapped them (with a promise that she should be a lot better in a few days, Force love bacta wraps), Jyn gingerly walks into a small alcove off of the main medical area Maz has set up to find Cassian. Jyn is amazed by Maz’s operation here, and it makes Jyn wonder briefly at what other secrets lurk under the surface of Maz’s palace. Of course, living nearly a thousand years would give one time to accumulate a lot of stuff.

She gets to Cassian, and she’s relieved to see that he looks more relaxed than she’d expected. His eyes light up when he sees her. “How are your knees?”

“Fine. Better.” She lifts an eyebrow. “How is your back?”

“Aari thinks it may be all right, or at least a lot more stable, after a bacta tank session.” He frowns slightly. “But he thinks I might need two.” He’s not happy at multiple dips in the tank, but if it means he’ll regain most of his mobility, he can deal with it. He really hopes one will be enough, though. He hates bacta tanks. “Also, after the scan, Aari said that half of my ribs are cracked, but none broke completely. That’s going to hurt for a while.”

“That’s good news.” Jyn eyes him. “But you’re holding something back.”

He nods, frowning. “I’ll be in a brace on the left side for a time. The bacta can help with the swelling around my spine, but I have multiple hairline fractures to my left leg, probably from when I landed after falling off of the tower. Maz has a brace I can use. Aari thinks it’ll take several weeks to stabilize and to get back to full mobility. I’ll be able to walk within a few hours, probably, but with assistance at first.”

“So, essentially, you’re lucky as hell.” She cups his face in her palm until he nods, acknowledging her point. Jyn sees a stool near the stretcher, and she pulls it over and sits down. “How are the others?”

Another voice makes them both jump slightly. “Th-they’re in the tanks.” They look over to see Bodhi standing there. Jyn sees that some of the livid red has faded and is shining with a new bacta salve, but she guesses that no amount of bacta is going completely get rid of the marks. His arm is still in a sling, this one a little more supportive. “M-Maz’s doctor and Aari think they’ll all recover. Two or three treatments each for M-Melshi and Chirrut, just one or two for B-Baze. B-but I don’t know the extent of their injuries. They’re nice, new tanks, though.”

Jyn nods, and she points to another stool. “Sit, Bo.”

He comes over, grabbing the stool with his good arm and pulling it over next to Jyn. Cassian watches with interest. Jyn is solicitous with Bodhi, gentle in a way he doesn’t necessarily associate with her. It makes him wonder what kind of person she would have been had Krennic never found the Erso family.

Maz comes into the alcove, and she levels a look at Cassian and Jyn. “So, Captain, I assume we need to contact the Rebellion?” Cassian’s eyes widen, but Maz isn’t done. “And Miss Erso, how do you play into this?” Jyn must look just as shocked as Cassian, but Maz just chuckles. “You two are very good at what you do, but I know Mon Mothma and knew Saw Gerrera. I know who you both are now – both of you intrigued me when you’ve been here in the past, you with just one trip, Miss Erso.”

Jyn and Cassian exchange a look, and Cassian starts to say something. Maz stops him. “Your secrets are quite safe with me, Captain Andor. I imagine you are quite certain of where my loyalties are. But your General Draven is an ass. You need to find a better boss.”

Jyn snorts, but Maz turns her focus on Bodhi. He seems to shrink in on himself, and Jyn stands and shifts to his side. Cassian watches with interest again, realizing that while he observes them that even though Jyn is probably four years younger than him, she has very much taken on the role of Bodhi’s big sister. Jyn speaks, her voice with a steel edge. “Maz, I respect you, and I am very grateful for the assistance you’re giving us, but please leave Bodhi alone.”

Maz considers Jyn for a moment, but she walks to Bodhi. “You have had a hard time, haven’t you, kiddo?” He blinks rapidly, and then he nods. Maz pats him on the hand. “You’re safe here, Bodhi Rook. I don’t need anything from you – just know that you’re safe.”

Stepping back, Maz eyes Jyn. “And you keep looking after them, but don’t forget to look after yourself too, kiddo.” After a beat, Maz goes on, “I can try to contact Mon Mothma when you are ready. If I can get through to them, I can get a comms unit in here, Captain. And no one outside of me knows who you are. You needn’t worry. I should call soon – Sergeant Dameron is bouncing off of my walls. He wants his wife to know he’s all right. I agree with him – Lieutenant Bey is one of the good ones. She must be beside herself.”

“She is.” Cassian agrees. “How are the rest of our people?”

“Alive and improving. The young one, Melshi according to Dameron, is in rough shape. Internal injuries, a head injury, shot a few times. He’s the only one we’re worried about.” Maz takes a deep breath. “The elder one, Chirrut, has significant internal injuries. They are healing well. He’ll have recovery time soon, then go back in the tank, definitely once, maybe twice more.”

“And Baze?” Jyn asks softly.

“Mr. Malbus is healing well. Blaster shots heal surprisingly well with bacta. He may only need the one treatment. He’ll be out soon. Captain, you’ll go in when he comes out.” Maz eyes Cassian. “The only one with a questionable prognosis is Sergeant Melshi. We’ll keep you informed. I’m going to go upstairs soon. I’ll work on contacting your people, and I’ll also work on the trade to get you a less noticeable ship. I have a buyer for your shuttle, one who has been looking for a Delta class. He has a small Corellian freighter that would likely suit your needs and also get you some credits. It would be a good deal.”

Cassian nods. “Thank you, Maz.”

“Of course.” She cocks her head. “If we cannot raise your people before you go in the tank, should I keep trying and let Sergeants Dameron and Erso talk to Senator Mothma?”

Cassian looks at Jyn. She looks doubtful, but he in confident that she and Dameron can handle it. “Yes, but try to get Dameron to sleep, too – I don’t think he has in over a day.”

“Not if it’s Draven, Maz.” Jyn’s reply is quick. “I’ll talk to Mothma, but not kriffing Draven.”

She stares down Cassian, and it must go on a while, because Maz just chuckles and leaves. Eventually, Cassian starts, “Jyn –”

Jyn shakes her head. “No, Cassian. He can kriff the hells off. I will not speak to him right now. He killed my father, Cass. And I know it’s all about ‘the good of the Rebellion,’ but he treats you like you’re just a disposable tool, too. You’re wrong if you think I haven’t sorted that out.”

Bodhi shifts uncomfortably. “I-I will go check on the others.” He bolts like a startled loth-cat.

Cassian has to take a moment, breathing as deep as his ribs will allow, looking at his hands. “Jyn, you can hate Draven for your father. That’s fair. But I made my own decisions. I chose the life I’ve led. He may treat me like, as you say, ‘a disposable tool,’ but I’ve allowed it. I’ve had choices, opportunities to take a different path.”

He looks up at her, and he can tell she’s about to argue. He won’t let her. “I was good at it, Jyn, and it needed to be done. It was that simple. I will not blame Draven for that. I have a lot of unforgivable things I am guilty of doing, but even if I have remorse, most of them are things I would not change, because they were for the good of the Rebellion and I had little choice in the moments when I did them. The only thing I truly, deeply regret is not telling you the truth about Draven’s orders about your father.”

Jyn bites her lip, looking down. She understands what Cassian is saying, knows that she also has few real regrets about her life. “Come here, Jyn.” She looks up, and she sees him reaching for her. Everything in her is screaming at her to run away from all of this – from Chirrut and Baze, solid and wise; from Bodhi, who makes her so protective and gentle; and especially from Cassian, who truly sees her like no one ever has. Saw’s words echo in her head: attachments make you weak, can be exploited. Her hand comes up, wrapping around the crystal, gripping it so tight that it nearly cuts into her skin.

Cassian watches her, and he can see the battle within. He can see it because he’s fighting the same things. “Jyn, please, come here.” She breathes out, and she comes over to his side. He can actually see the tremors in her body. “Don’t run. I can’t follow you right now, and I need you with me. I’m still with you. All the way. I meant that.” It costs him a lot to say that. He’s not ever been good about saying what he needs – that’s pretty much what happens when you lose everything at the age of six.

She doesn’t look at him. “I know you did. I don’t want to.” She finally looks up, and the tears brimming in her eyes nearly break his heart. He reaches up and takes her free hand. “I’m so afraid of this, Cassian. Of needing people. If I don’t have anyone I care about, no one can be used against me. No one can leave me.”

“You think I don’t understand that?” He entwines their fingers. “Jyn, I probably understand that more than anyone else can.”

“I know.” She releases the crystal and swipes at her eyes, leaving her other hand wrapped in his. Jyn reaches over and pulls the stool up again, putting it right next to him. She rests her head on the stretcher next to his right hip, her hand landing on his right leg.

He sighs, and he’s happy to see that she seems to have settled down for now. He brushes his hand through her hair, eventually pulling the remnants of her messy bun free. He relaxes back into the stretcher. After a long while, a thought occurs to him, and he snorts.

“What’s funny?” Jyn asks without lifting her head.

Quietly, almost afraid to break the peaceful bubble around them, he replies, “Kay would be disgusted by this. He loved to tell me how unbearable we organics are with our need for touch and affection.”

She nods under his hand. “I don’t remember the last time I willingly allowed someone to touch me. I haven’t trusted anyone in a long time.”

“Same. But I trust you, Jyn.” He continues brushing his hand through her hair, wishing it was safe to get her to get on the stretcher with him.

“Jyn, I was honest when I said we make a good team. I want to work with you. Even if I recover to nearly one hundred percent, I need a partner, if not a team. I’m ready to step back from what I was doing before. I’m good at recruiting and at longer undercovers. You can pretend that you’re not a spy, but you’ve lived that way for years. You’d be good at both of those things.” He squeezes her hand. “Well, on the recruiting, you’d probably scare people. But you’d be good to have at my back.”

“Draven won’t allow it. You know he won’t.” She tightens her hand on his leg. “Draven hates me and everything I stand for, Cassian.”

“Senator Mothma has offered me different roles for the last year.” She sits up, looking at him. “I just never had any reason to take them. Now I do. And I have an idea of how to keep us together. You’re going to think I’m insane, though.”

“What, more insane than going to a heavily fortified Imperial data vault with no support, twenty or so soldiers, and a minuscule chance of success, much less survival?” She furrows her brow.

He starts to respond, but a knock against the wall makes them both look towards the source of the sound, Jyn reaching for the blaster she has at her hip. Aari stands there, hands raised. “Just here to take the captain for the bacta tank. Mr. Malbus is out and should wake up soon, Jyn, if you want to sit with him. Lieutenant Rook is already with him.”

Jyn nods, then looks at Cassian. “Do you want me to stay?”

He warms a little inside at the request. “No, I’ll be all right. They have to sedate me for the tank anyway.”

“All right.” She stands, leaning over and, surprising both of them, pressing a kiss to his temple. “I’ll be there when you wake up, Cass.”

“Promise?” He turns wide eyes to her, and she can see that he’s worried, maybe even scared. He must be able to tell that she’s reading his emotions, and he wonders if it’s all the pain meds that are making him so open. Softly, he says, “I hate bacta tanks. I have nightmares about them. I’m not a great swimmer. I don’t like being submerged.”

Her eyes soften. “I promise I’ll be there, Cassian.” She steps away then, holding his gaze for a moment, seeing the gratitude in his eyes. “See you soon.” He nods, giving her a small wave. She wraps her arms around herself and limps off to find Bodhi and Baze.

X X X X X X X X

Jyn approaches the bed where Baze still is out, sitting in a chair next to Bodhi. After a moment of silence, Jyn says, “It feels so quiet here, like there isn’t a war raging in the galaxy.”

Bodhi nods. “But there is a war. We-we’re going back to it, aren’t we?” Jyn looks at him in surprise, and he shrugs his good shoulder. “I-I know. You don’t expect that from me, but they destroyed Jedha, Jyn. My home. My family. All gone. My head is still jumbled, b-but I know what’s right. I want to help you and Cassian with whatever it is you end up doing. He lost Kay. He needs another pilot. I can do that.”

“You sound so sure that we’ll be able to do this, stay together, even keep me with you.” She sighs. She knows the Rebellion could as easily toss her in a cell as anything else.

“I’m sure that we’ll figure it out.” Bodhi surprises her with how confident he sounds. “And do you really think –” He pauses, peering around to see if anyone from Maz’s team is nearby. He then drops his voice and continues, “And do you really think C-Cassian will let them interfere?”

Jyn wraps her arms around her waist, pulling in on herself. “He may not be able to protect me, Bo. Draven hates me.”

A grumbling voice makes them both look up. “We will protect you too, Little Sister.”

Jyn rises carefully as Bodhi jumps up, going to get a medic. “Baze. I’m glad you’re awake.”

Baze eyes her, then his eyes move around rapidly. “Where is Chirrut? And the Captain?”

Jyn puts her hand gently on his shoulder. “They’re in bacta tanks. You were in one for a few hours, too. They’re cycling you and Cassian out. You may need one more time, Cassian might as well.” She squeezes. “The prognosis is good for them both, Baze. They’ll be all right. We got Sergeant Melshi out too. He’ll probably be all right as well.”

Baze relaxes back into the bed they put him in. “You know the first thing he’ll say when they revive him is that he can’t see, right?”

Jyn snorts. “I’ll be disappointed if he doesn’t.”

Aari and Bodhi join them, and Jyn steps back. She loops her arm through Bodhi’s good arm as they watch the medic scan Baze. After a few moments, the medic steps back. “You may not need to go back in. You’re healing better than I expected. Bacta wraps may do the trick. We’ll apply some and wait and see.”

Baze grunts. “After that, can we go sit with the others in bacta?”

“Yes.” Aari nods. “Maz has a wheelchair. If you agree to ride and stay down, you can go see them and stay a while. Then you need more sleep. And we pulled both Sergeant Melshi and Chirrut from the tanks a short while ago. They both healing better than expected. They may be good with just this second treatment. But Mr. Malbus, you really have to behave, or I’ll sedate you again.” Baze nods begrudgingly, and Aari leaves, presumably to get supplies.

Jyn looks at Baze, and he says, “Maz? Does he mean Maz Kanata? Are we on Takodana?”

Bodhi throws his good hand up at that. “Am I the only one who doesn’t know her?”

Baze and Jyn look at him and simultaneously say, “Yes.”

Less than half an hour later, Aari wheels Baze into the room with the three bacta tanks. Jyn and Bodhi follow, Jyn’s knees protesting. When they get to the chairs near the tanks, Aari parks Baze next to the chair Jyn takes, and then he positions a chair in front of Jyn. “Feet up. No arguments. You need to elevate.”

Maz steps into the room, and she approaches them. There is only one 2-1B droid in the room with them, and none of Maz’s personnel. She gets to them. “Mr. Malbus, I see you are doing better.”

“Yes. Thank you, Pirate Queen.” Baze smirks at her.

“Be quiet, you.” Maz waves at him. She turns to Jyn. “The med droid says that the captain is doing well. And be aware, I regularly wipe my med-droids’ memory banks. They will be reset to basic programming when you depart. You can speak freely in here. I swept it for bugs myself before you came in.”

“Thank you, Maz.” Jyn inclines her head, but her eyes are glued to Cassian’s tank. He has on shorts to protect his modesty, but he’s otherwise unclothed. She’s stunned by the scars and bruises, but she guesses that she shouldn’t be. Even bacta can’t eliminate scars completely – it can stop new ones, but it doesn’t necessarily clear away old ones. Her body is not particularly different.

“Kiddo, he’s doing well. We sedated him heavily at his request. He doesn’t want to wake up in the tank, which I understand.” She puts a hand on Jyn’s arm. “He’ll be fine. And when he wakes, you can tell him that I was able to make a deal for the shuttle. I was able to trade it for a smaller Corellian frieghter. It has living quarters for a few, some cargo space, and a gunner’s chair. It’s small and a little old, so I was able to get ten thousand credits as well as the freighter. That Delta was pristine. The freighter is in good shape, though, according to my mechanic. It’ll be tight to get you all home, but after that, it’ll make a good cover ship for a small team doing clandestine work.”

Jyn is amazed. “Thank you, Maz. Bodhi and I will go check it over later.”

Maz nods. “I’m still trying to raise the Rebellion. I have a few more frequencies to try.”

“Can I come with?” Kes Dameron enters the room. Jyn can tell he got some rest.

“A handsome young man wanting to follow me around? Who am I to say no to that?” Maz leaves with a chuckling Kes in her wake.

The three of them settle in, watching their comrades in the tanks. Eventually, Aari brings in four stretchers, telling them they all have to sleep. Jyn thinks about protesting, and she’s the last to hop up on her portable bed. Bodhi and Baze are both out almost the moment they are on their beds, but Jyn doesn’t want to close her eyes, doesn’t want to relax.

Aari comes to her side. “Dameron rested up. He’s keeping an eye on things. I’m going to sleep, too. Who do you think the fourth bed is for? The 2-1B has been instructed to wake me in a few hours. I will wake you when it’s time to take Captain Andor out of the tank. You have my word, Jyn.”

She nods, letting him help her up to the stretcher. She curls up on her side, pleased to note that her knees are feeling significantly better. “Thank you, Aari, for everything.”

“No problem. I won’t pretend I’m not looking forward to getting back to a medbay. I thought I wanted the excitement of field work, but honestly, this is more than I bargained for.” He gives her a game smile before turning and getting up on his own bed.

Jyn watches Cassian, focusing on his face. The bacta and the sedative making the perpetual tension in his expression smooth out. She sees his rather ridiculously pretty eyelashes resting against his cheeks, and she realizes that he and Bodhi are probably about the same age, all of them in their 20s. She can’t help but feel that they’ve all seen and done far too much in their relatively short lives. She falls asleep watching him, the unfamiliar feeling of actually being safe, even if temporarily, allowing her to surrender to it.

X X X X X X X X

“Jyn?”

She sits up quickly, hands raised defensively. Kes steps back. “Hey. Sorry, but I needed to talk to you. We got through to Senator Mothma. I spoke with her directly, and no, General Draven wasn’t there.” He looks upset.

“What’s wrong? Is your wife all right?” Jyn frowns.

He nods. “Yes. I talked to her. The Senator sent for her while I was telling her what happened. She did think I was dead.” He swallows hard. “She’s pretty mad at me for going now that she knows I’m not. But I have bad news, Jyn.” Before she can ask, he says, “They lost the plans.”

Jyn feels her stomach drop to her feet. “What?”

“They were transmitted to Princess Leia Organa’s ship, the Tantive IV. The ship was taken. We don’t know where the plans or the Princess are.” He shakes his head. “I’m so sorry, Jyn.”

After staring at Kes for a moment, in a move her knees will hate her for later, Jyn jumps up and runs to a trash bin. In moments, what little there was in her stomach comes up. She heaves into the can, and then she bolts from the room, desperate to get outside. She runs blindly, and eventually, she finds a path out. It’s dawn, and she sinks to the ground, her breathing erratic and knees aching. She sits there for a long time, rocking back and forth, her arms wrapped around herself again.

In what could be minutes or hours later, she feels movement behind her. Before she can move, Bodhi drops next to her, wrapping his good arm around her shoulders and pulling her to him. She struggles briefly, then she relents, nearly burrowing into his side. “Th-they’re looking for them, Jyn. They may find them. Hope isn’t gone. Just hold on to that. We won’t stop fighting. G-Galen would want us to keep going, and we will, if only to honor all those who died on Jedha and Scarif.”

She digs her hands into his flight suit, holding him tight. He rocks her in his embrace, and she marvels at their rapid role-reversal. She drags in a breath, whispering, “Rebellions are built on hope.” After a few more moments, she nods slightly and sits up. “I have to go back inside. I promised Cassian I’d be there when he wakes up, and that’s probably soon, isn’t it?”

Bodhi nods. He stands, offering her his good hand. She takes it and stands up. Before letting go, she squeezes his hand. “Thank you, Bodhi.” He gives her a funny look, but she says it again. “Thank you.”

He suddenly seems to realize what she means, and he releases her hand, rubbing the back of his neck. “You-you’ve been there for me. I can be there for you, too. That’s what friends do, right?”

She huffs out an ironic laugh, heading back inside. “I’m not the one to ask that, Bodhi. I haven’t really had friends or family in nearly fifteen years.”

“Well, you s-seem smart. You’ll sort it out.” He lifts an eyebrow at her.

She laughs again, this time without irony. A wave of affection washes over her. “I expect that you will make me. Cassian probably needs help with this, too. We’re both a bit out of practice.”

When she gets back to the bacta treatment room, Bodhi following, she’s met by Kes. He looks stricken. “I’m sorry, Jyn. I had to tell you, though.”

“It’s all right, Kes.” He nods, and then he shocks her by stepping forward and enveloping her in a hug. She tenses at first, but she relaxes into the hug in seconds. “I’m all right.” When she steps back, she sees a broken chair set aside. “What happened?”

“Baze did that when I told him.” Kes sounds like he’s beside himself.

“I’m sorry you had to be the messenger on the news, Kes.” He releases her, and she notices that Cassian is out of the tank. “Where is he?”

“Getting cleaned up, still sedated. They’ll keep him in here.” He nods to a corner of the room, and she can see that the droids are back there dressing Cassian in soft fabric clothes. His hair is cleaned, and she can see that the bacta has been rinsed off.

A moment later, they put him on a medical bed in another quiet corner of the room. He’s still asleep, but he looks relaxed, like he’s no longer in any pain. There is a brace on his left leg. Aari joins him, and Jyn limps to the bed. She sits on the chair that he points to. The medic says, “His scan looks great. These are the best tanks I’ve ever seen. He won’t have to go back in. Chirrut is coming out next. Melshi will be in for at least several more hours.”

He eyes her, and then he steps out. When he comes back, he has two braces in his hands. He doesn’t say anything, just pulls her boots off again and then puts a soft brace on each knee. The pressure feels better than she’s ever going to admit.

“When will Cassian wake up?” She asks the question softly.

“Any time now. Are you going to tell him?” She looks up at Aari, and she can see he asked the question with simple concern.

She nods. “Yes. I won’t keep it from him.”

“Good.” Aari nods. “I’ll be here in case he gets too upset.”

She doesn’t respond, just nods. He squeezes her shoulder and then draws a curtain around her and Cassian, hiding them from the rest of the room. Jyn takes Cassian’s hand, and she holds it tight, wondering how she can possibly tell him. After a few minutes, she’s out of time to think about it. His eyelids begin to flutter, and seconds later, his hand tightens around hers. “Nari?” She’s amazed that his brain supplied her cover name – how can he think she’s good enough to keep up with him?

“I’m here.” She stands up, keeping his hand in hers. “I’m here, Cass. It’s all right to use names, the room is clean.” His eyes open completely, locking on hers. He sits up easily, his free hand holding his chest. “How do you feel?”

He inhales deeply as Aari joins them. “Better, Captain?”

Cassian nods. “It’s still sore, but not as bad.”

Aari nods. “Your scan when we pulled you showed that all the soft-tissue damage is repaired, and the swelling around your spine is gone. All that’s really left is the bone fractures to your ribcage, hip, and leg. You’ll just need to take it easy for a couple, maybe three, weeks.”

Cassian frowns, and Aari gives him a hard look. “Cassian, you are lucky to have not lost your mobility. Your left hip and leg could have been a much more serious mess. Just a bit harder, and your spine would be cracked and you would, at a minimum, be in a back brace for the rest of your life. The risk of further injury is minimal, but it does exist. We’ll try to scan you again in two weeks. For now, walking carefully with the brace and a cane. That’s it. Are we clear?”

Cassian sighs. That wasn’t exactly what he wanted to hear, but he can see Aari’s point. “We are clear.”

Jyn listens to the exchange, thinking about how to tell Cassian about the plans. When the medic leaves, she looks at Cassian. He lifts his eyebrows. “Did Maz find us a ship? Did you talk to Senator Mothma?”

Jyn comes to his bed, and he carefully scoots to the left, gratified that he is able to do it and do it without any real pain. He pats the bed, and she perches on the edge of it. She tries to keep some distance, but he pulls her to his side. “Cassian, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t.” He assures her, and after another moment, Jyn curls towards him. She stays upright, though. She needs to see him. He must read something in her expression, because he says, “Jyn, what’s wrong?”

She heaves a breath. “Maz found us a Corellian freighter, a small one. The Delta was in such good shape, she also got us ten thousand credits in the deal.” Before he can say anything, she forges on. “And we talked to the Rebellion. Well, Kes did. I was finally getting some sleep. Kes talked to the Senator.” Tears brim in her eyes. She’d been in shock before, but now all she can feel is sadness and despair. “They lost the plans.”

Her words are like a punch to the gut. The tears in her eyes spill over, and he’s fairly sure he’s never seen someone look so lost. “What happened, Jyn?”

“The Senator told Kes that the plans were received and were on the Tantive IV. It was taken.” She blinks, trying to stop the tears.

“The Tantive IV? Leia, Princess Leia’s ship?” She nods, and he pulls her close. She goes without a fight this time, gently wrapping an arm around his waist and resting her head on his shoulder. He feels rising dread, but knowing that Leia is involved makes him feel better and worse at the same time. “Leia is one of the toughest people I know. Almost as tough as you.”

“A princess?” Jyn blinks. “You know her?”

“I do. I’ve known her since I was eighteen and she was eleven. I had to look after her for Bail Organa once. I taught her to swear in Festian, she taught me to swear in Huttese.” He smiles slightly at the memory.

“I like her already.” Jyn closes her eyes. “You believe it might actually work out?”

“I do. If Kay were here, he would tell us the odds aren’t good. But the odds weren’t good to get the plans in the first place.” He rests his head on hers. “You want to hear the insane idea I had earlier?”

“Anything to take my mind off of things.” She picks her head up to look at him.

His eyes darken as he looks at her. “All right, but there’s something I want to do first. Something I want to be clear about.” His hand comes up to cup her cheek. “And it’s not saying good-bye or giving up.”

She bites her lip and nods. She reaches up and brushes her hand through his hair, almost obscenely soft after the bacta tank. He leans in, and her eyes flutter closed as she meets him halfway. His hand slides back, his fingers threading into her hair as he presses his lips to hers. The hair of his beard brushes her face as she deepens the kiss. She has kissed men before, usually as part of a con, but this is nothing like that. She feels like she’s flying and yet completely safe all at once.

Cassian eventually pulls back, and he touches his forehead to hers. His heart is racing, and he wonders briefly if this was a good idea considering his condition the last two days. Then, he dismisses that thought, because it’s possible that he’s never felt less alone than he does at this moment.

They stay like that, foreheads touching, his hand still in her hair and hers on his neck, breathing the same air, for a while. Then, she breathes out, “Kriff, I would have let you kiss me in the lift if I’d known it would be like that.”

He laughs softly, then he turns serious. “I want to head back to Yavin as soon as we can move Melshi and Chirrut and Baze. I think I can help Bodhi pilot now.” She nods. “But there is something I want to do first, something that will be the best way I can think of to send a message to Draven and everyone else, and make both you and me happy in the process.”

She finally leans back, looking curiously at him. “Now this I have to hear.”


	3. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They all begin to recover, and they head home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Yep. Love me some Maz and Kes. Ahem. And sorry for the lag between posts, y’all. I’m a single parent trying to manage my 8-year-old daughter’s online school and still work full-time from home (and am busier than I was before the pandemic). I have to squeeze writing in whenever I can. I also have a couple of other WIPs I’m trying to finish, so…yeah. Doing my best. 
> 
> Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.

“Say that again?” Jyn looks at Cassian as if he’s grown a second head. She’d been waiting for him to tell her his thing he wanted to do before they leave, but what he said nearly made her fall off of the bed.

“Marry me.” He repeats seriously, not particularly surprised that Jyn appears to think he’s insane. He knows it’s the right thing, though. “Jyn, I’ve never in my life rebelled against anything except the Empire, but I am not willing to risk being separated from you and even the others. So, it’s time for me to start rebelling against expectations.”

She blinks, and after a moment, she says, “You said you don’t have a concussion, but I’m not sure.”

He gives her an exasperated look. “Jyn, even if I did, the hours in the tank would have fixed it.” He then gets serious again. He needs to convince her of this. He takes a deep breath. “I’ve never in my life wanted something just for me. You and me, we fit. Your streak of doing what’s right balances very well against my streak of following orders. And I don’t think you’re ready to walk away from this fight. Am I right about that?”

He levels a hard look at her, and he waits for a tiny nod before continuing. “As much as I think Leia and Senator Mothma will back me up, Draven won’t want to let me out of his grasp without a push, and I can’t,” he pauses, swallowing hard, “I can’t do what I was doing before, be who I was before.” He grasps her hand in his, entwining their fingers. “I can’t keep ignoring the people and things I care about in the name of being detached. I can’t, no, I don’t want to do it anymore. And I care about you. Very much.”

“But you care about the cause, too, Cass. You dragged yourself up that tower in your condition for the cause. It’ll always be the thing that matters the most.” She’s not sure why she’s arguing. She knows that deep down she wants to scream yes, but she’s terrified.

“Jyn, I didn’t do that for the cause.” She looks up, meeting his eyes, and she sees something burning there. “I did that for you. I went to protect you. I wasn’t even thinking about the plans until I knew you were safe. I was thinking about you.” Her mouth opens in shock, and she feels tears well in her eyes. “Jyn, if I am able, I will always come back for you. I’ll keep doing that until the last breath leaves me. I swear that to you.”

“Why for me, Cassian? Why me? You’ve known me a standard week. Less.” She truly cannot fathom this. No one comes for her. Her parents left her, Saw left her, everyone leaves her.

“Because you’re Jyn Erso. Because you were the first person I have allowed to see me since I was literally a child. Your fire, your determination, and while you may scoff, your kindness, made me open my eyes for real and to, in turn, make me open myself.” He cups her cheek with his free hand. “I won’t be easy to deal with. I can turn very dark very quickly. I know it’s ridiculous, but Kay was my light. He’d bring me back every time I disappeared into the darkness, whether he even knew it or not. He cared about me, droid or not.”

She bites her lip, her mind racing. “Cassian, how are you so sure of me, how do you trust me so much?”

“Trust goes both ways, right?” He looks down. “I’ve given you far more reasons to not trust me than you’ve given me to not trust you.”

“Cassian, you are the only person in my life who hasn’t abandoned me when things got hard. My mother, Saw, even my father, even if his intentions were good – they all left me. You never did, even when I was awful to you after Eadu.” She realizes that she’s actually convincing herself.

“I deserved it, Jyn. I’ve followed orders blindly, or at least seeing only the goal and not the collateral damage, for far too long.” He sighs. “My view of the world has been far too narrow for far too long. You help me see more.”

She nods. “You do the same for me – you help me see that I can trust people. Maybe not all people. Draven is a piece of bantha fodder.” He snorts, and she leans into the hand he still has resting on her face. “What do you envision for us?”

“We have a ship. We have a crew once we’re all recovered. They need teams to do recon, to do recruiting, to slip in and out the way official missions can’t always manage. If they’re willing to join us, you, me, Baze, Chirrut, and Bodhi are probably the most unlikely crew I can think of.” He presses his forehead to hers. “Please, Jyn. I need you.”

“And the others. That’s why I’m confused about the proposal, Cass.” She closes her eyes.

“No.” Something in his voice makes her open her eyes again. “I want the others on the team. I need you. And Draven will probably still be angry and try to blame you, even though gathering the men and coming with you was my doing alone. If you are my wife, I have allies within the leadership, people who owe me, who will not allow Draven to force us apart, who will not allow him to punish you for doing the right thing. If you don’t want to stay and fight, I will understand. But if you do, you need to trust me – trust that this is the best way. Please, Jyn Erso, please marry me.”

She stares at him, allowing her desire to say yes to briefly war with her fear of being abandoned. Then, she makes a decision. “Andor.” She answers quietly. He blinks in confusion. “Jyn Andor. I think Jyn Erso died on Scarif. I think she had to.” Without waiting for his response, she moves back into him, kissing him again and then nuzzling into his neck and gently wrapping her arms around his waist. He pulls her close, resting his chin on her head, and closing his eyes.

He feels a spike of relief, but he has to be sure. “Was that a yes, bella?”

She snorts, but she also warms at the endearment while at the same time wishing that she cleaned up before her nap – she’s fairly sure she’s not exactly looking her best. “Yes, that was a yes.” He sighs and pulls her a little tighter, ignoring the slight twinge in his ribs.

“Y-you owe me t-ten credits, Dameron.” Jyn and Cassian both look up in surprise, his arms pulling back, one hand instinctively grabbing the blaster he made Aari leave him as Jyn releases him and sits up straight, her whole body tense.

Without blinking, he levels the blaster towards the voice. Hands up non-threateningly, Bodhi, Baze, and Kes stand where they pulled the curtain open. He immediately lowers the blaster, replacing on the table next to him, muttering, “Make some noise next time.”

Kes rolls his eyes and drops his hands. “Andor, you choose today to finally ease up for five minutes?” Kes sounds irritated, but Cassian can see a softness in his eyes. He and Shara have been Cassian’s only real friends on the base the last few years, the only ones good at ever drawing him out.

Even the people he gathered for the assault on Scarif weren’t friends necessarily. They were all people who understood each other, but none of them were the friends sort. What they do or did as work almost demanded that.

“Shara won’t be impressed that you were making bets about me, Kes.” Cassian challenges him. “Should I tell her when we get back?”

Kes raises his hands again, this time in mock defeat. “Kriff no. She’d kick my ass.”

Cassian smirks. “I know.”

“Not nice, Andor.” Kes grins.

Jyn shakes her head, looking at Baze and Bodhi. “How are Chirrut and Melshi?”

Baze answers softly, “Improving. Chirrut hasn’t woken up yet, but the medic, Aari, thinks it will be soon. Melshi is back in the tank, but will be out soon. They think he’ll recover, if not to one hundred percent.”

Cassian’s heart sinks at that. “What’s wrong? What’s not healing?”

Aari steps into the room holding a cane and clears his throat. “Where you were lucky, he was less so, Cassian. One of the blaster bolts that hit him nicked his spine. It’s mostly repaired, but nerves are tricky, and there was definitely nerve damage. The extent will remain to be seen, but he’ll likely have issues with neuropathy on a permanent basis. Essentially intermittent loss of sensation and occasional pain in his extremities. He probably won’t be cleared for field work again, at least not the kind he did before.”

Aari approaches them, and he puts the cane on Cassian’s side of the bed. “I’m telling you, Captain, because you’re the ranking officer here. I’m telling you in front of the others because he’ll need support. I’ve known him a long time. This won’t be easy for him.”

“Will he have mobility?” It’s Jyn who asks, and Cassian wraps his hand around hers.

“Yes.” Aari nods. “Absolutely. But nerve damage is unpredictable, and he can’t be in a firefight and lose sensation in his hands. He won’t have the endurance he used to, and he won’t have the control. But he will not be helpless or useless in any way. He’ll just need to readjust his focus from active field work to something else. Food for thought, Captain.” With another nod, Aari leaves, joined by Kes.

Jyn and Cassian exchange a glance, and Bodhi and Baze approach. Baze puts a hand on Jyn’s shoulder. “Let’s go sit with Chirrut and talk. We heard much of your conversation. We’re in, Captain, little sister.” Baze focuses on Jyn. “And I think the Captain is right. I don’t know this Draven personally, but he doesn’t sound like someone I’d want to have to be at the mercy of. I’m glad you said yes, because Chirrut would be far better at convincing you.”

She gives him a smile while Bodhi and Cassian both laugh quietly. She’s not sure she’s ever heard Baze string that many words together at once before. She swings her legs off of the bed, and she stands up, happy to note that the braces help her battered knees. As Cassian turns to try to stand, she and Baze both move around to his side of the bed. Cassian looks irritated, but he lets Baze help him to his feet.

Cassian hates feeling helpless and dependent, but when his feet touch the floor and he tries to take weight on his legs, he’s happy for the help. It takes him a moment to find his balance, and his left side protests, leaving him grateful for the brace. He has to keep his leg straight in it, but the cane Jyn hands him will help. He feels a flash of self-pity, but then he reminds himself that he could be in the same boat as Melshi. That sobers him, and he stands up straighter.

Jyn looks up at him. “You good?”

He nods, and it occurs to him that this woman just agreed to be his wife. He reaches out with his free hand and cups her cheek again. He feels an almost overwhelming wave of affection for her, and he notices Bodhi and Baze slipping from their little curtained area. “It’s not just because of Draven, you know?”

She reaches up and wraps her hand around his wrist. Her cheeks flush a little, and the soft look on her face is not one he’d associate with the Jyn he knows. He can’t wait to know her more and more, something he’s never really felt about anyone. She turns her head slightly, dropping a kiss to his palm. “I know. And I didn’t only say yes because of Draven. You told me ‘welcome home’ back on Yavin 4. That felt like more than just to the Rebellion.”

“It definitely was.” He leans down and kisses her, his hand slides around into her hair as she leans up into him. Stretching up hurts her knees, making her pull back. She looks around and spots a small step next to the bed. She drags it over and steps up on it, and they’re suddenly the same height, maybe even her slightly taller.

She grins as he laughs, and she says, “That’s better.” She leans in again, kissing him hard. She hears the cane clatter to the floor as he pulls her flush to him, and she wraps her arms around his neck as he anchors himself upright by holding her hips tight. Even with all the bad – all the people they lost, K-2, the plans, her father, even Saw – this grounds her, makes her forget, even if just for a moment.

When they pull back, she looks at him, running her hand idly through his hair. “How am I so comfortable with you? I haven’t felt even marginally safe since Lah’mu.”

“I don’t know. But I’m the same.” He returns her gaze before closing his eyes and touching his forehead to hers. “Does it feel like we’re in some sort of strange bubble right now? Like everything is,” he pauses, reaching for the words to explain what he’s feeling right now, “Distant?”

She nods against him. “But we have to go back. This can’t last forever.”

“I know.” He opens his eyes and pulls back. “I even want to. I am not ready to leave the fight. But this is nice for right now, isn’t it?”

“It is.” She leans in and kisses him one more time, just because she can. Then, she pulls away, stepping off of the stool, and letting him balance on her shoulder for a moment before he can lean on the bed while she bends and gets his cane for him.

She hands it to him, and he smiles gratefully. “Thanks. Kay would have made me figure out how to get it myself.”

She snorts. “Why does that not surprise me?” As they go to leave the curtained-off area, Jyn gets serious. “How is Melshi going to take the news?”

He sighs. “Probably about as well as you or I would. But I have an idea I want to float to him. I trust him, have known him for years. I want to see if he’ll bite.”

She looks at him thoughtfully. “You want him to be our on-base contact. Our handler, of sorts?”

He nods, amazed at how in synch their thinking is. “Yes. Depending on what we’re doing, we could also take him with us now and then. He’s valuable and good at what we do. If he wants to work with us, he would be an asset.”

“I like it. Considering that he didn’t completely despise me after I nearly knocked him out at Wobani, he seems a decent enough guy.” She smirks up at him.

They get to the area where Chirrut’s bed is, and Jyn notices two chairs next to Bodhi with a third one turned facing them. Jyn helps Cassian sit, and then she helps him elevate his bad leg on the chair. She settles between him and Bodhi, stretching her legs out in front of her. Jyn looks at Baze, in a chair right next to the bed. “How is he?”

“Starting to stir. Will probably wake up any moment.” Baze answers softly, most of his usual gruffness gone. Jyn notices that Baze is holding Chirrut’s hand in his, and something falls into place for her. She reaches for Cassian’s hand. He entwines their fingers, and she looks up to see that he is also focused on Baze holding Chirrut’s hand. He glances down at Jyn, and he squeezes her hand.

Cassian turns his focus to Bodhi. “How are you, Bodhi? How are the burns and your shoulder?”

“Better. The b-bacta gels and patches have helped.” Bodhi looks down at his burned forearm, bright pink but clearly healing. “It will scar, but I don’t mind.” He looks back up, a wry smile on his face. “Pretty sure we all have our f-fair share of scars, right?”

They all snort at that, but the voice that agrees is one they’ve been waiting to hear. And the first words are as promised. “I can’t see, but I am quite sure that you are correct, Captain Rook.” They all look to the bed in time to see Chirrut cock his head in Bodhi’s direction as Baze rolls his eyes.

Cassian can see, though, that Baze also relaxes into the chair a little, and he knows Jyn saw it when she reaches over and squeezes his hand with hers. Baze grumbles, “Told you he’d say he can’t see.”

Chirrut chuckles, but he also turns his hand over in Baze’s and squeezes. “I’m certain I’ve missed a few things. Would someone care to get me up to speed?”

“Me first.” Aari joins them, and Baze steps away slightly while the medic speaks quietly with Chirrut.

Jyn can see that he is clenching and unclenching his fist, and she gets up and moves to his side, taking his hand and holding it tight. “He’s all right, Baze.”

The gruff man looks down at her, and then he squeezes her hand, sighing. “I know.” After a moment, he says, “Thank you, little sister.”

Once Aari is done checking on Chirrut, Baze goes back to Chirrut’s side, and Cassian comes to Jyn with Aari. “Bella, Melshi is waking up, too. I’m going to go with Aari while you all update Chirrut.”

She nods. “Can we be on the move soon?”

Aari looks reluctant, but he nods back. “Yes, if there are beds on the ship we have. I still want Chirrut and Melshi taking it easy, and Cassian, you need to rest now and then, too.”

Cassian frowns, but after Jyn gives him a hard look, he relents. “I have to help Bodhi fly the ship, Aari, but he and I can alternate once we’re at lightspeed.”

“Good enough. Come on, I don’t want Melshi to wake up alone – he might panic and hurt himself.” Aari gives Jyn a quick smile and heads for another part of the room.

Cassian leans down and kisses Jyn’s cheek. “Stay here with Chirrut and the others. Melshi probably doesn’t need an audience beyond me and Aari while Aari delivers the bad news.”

Jyn winces. “No, I imagine he doesn’t. We’ll talk to Chirrut, then Bo and I can go check out the ship in detail and start making sure we have everything together.”

“All right. I’ll see you soon.” He leans down and kisses her again, this time a light brush against her lips. He turns and follow Aari, leaning heavily on the cane. Jyn knows that he is dreading talking to Melshi, and she wishes it was something she could help him with.

After she watches him go, she turns to Bodhi, motioning to him to go back to Baze and Chirrut. As they walk, she says softly, “I want a moment with Baze. Can you sit with Chirrut?”

“Of-of course, Jyn.” Bodhi nods, though he looks a little concerned.

Jyn reassures him quickly. “I just want to ask him a quick question, but privately. It’s nothing bad, Bodhi.”

He relaxes, and they get to the bedside, Jyn quietly asking Baze if he has a moment. She can see that he’s reluctant to step away. She tells him that Bodhi will stay with Chirrut, and Chirrut shoos them away, talking softly to Bodhi, who sits in the chair next to the bed.

As they move away, Baze asks, “What’s wrong, Little Sister?”

“Nothing.” She stops walking and turns to look up at him. “Bodhi and I will sit with you and Chirrut for a while, but then we’re going to go check out our new ship.” She pauses, and before he can prompt her, she takes a deep breath and goes on, “Maz said there is space for a few crew. From her look, I took that to mean there are a few rooms. I assume you and Chirrut together, but if there’s a choice, one bigger bed or two smaller ones?”

Baze tenses, and he levels her with an appraising look. “Guardians of the Whills don’t –”

She stops him with a gentle hand to his arm. “Baze, I don’t give a damn about rules or much else, as you well know. I do give a damn about you and Chirrut, though, both your health and your happiness. One or two?”

He shakes his head, swallowing a smile. Then, he surprises her by pulling her to him in a gentle hug. “One. And thank you, Little Sister.”

When he releases her, she steps back. “Thank you for being willing to stay. For staying with us.”

He inclines his head in a respectful nod. “There’s no where else for us to go. Our path is with you, the Captain, and our pilot.” She lifts an eyebrow, and he smirks. “I can be philosophical too, you know.” As she laughs, he reaches over and squeezes her shoulder. “And you and Bodhi can go ahead. We’ll be fine. Get us ready to go. I don’t want us to attract trouble for the Pirate Queen.”

She nods, and they head back to the bed. After squeezing Chirrut’s hand, she and Bodhi go looking for Maz. One of her medics calls her for them, and a few minutes later, she shows up to guide them to their new ship.

As they walk, slowly because of both Jyn’s knees and Maz’s height, she gives them some background on the little freighter. “It’s small but not too small for your team. My engineers went ahead and did a deep dive on it, Mr. Rook, and the engines and hyperdrive are in excellent shape, as are all of the systems. I’ve had them load some extra fuel, some parts, and a full set of tools onboard already.”

“Th-thank you, Maz.” Bodhi smiles, and Jyn is happy to see a little spark of excitement in his eyes.

Maz nods and turns her head to Jyn. “The weapons locker is full, and the onboard gunner’s seat is ready to go. You’ll have solid defense when you need them. And I’ve stocked the kitchen area. There are three bunks. You can show me how to configure those when we get to the ship. I’ve also had them load up some new clothes for all of you. Finding something for Mr. Malbus was challenging.”

Jyn laughs softly. “Maz, we can never repay you for all of this. At least take some of the credits from the sale of the shuttle.”

“No thanks, Kiddo. You are all out there risking yourselves against the Empire – those kriffing bastards are an abomination. They need to be gone, or all of us will lose any liberty we have.” She stops. “Now, here we are.”

Jyn realizes that they are in an underground hangar. In front of them is a very solid looking little freighter, obviously Corellian, and while it looks like it has seen action now and then, it’s clearly well-maintained. Jyn looks at Bodhi, and she’s relieved that he looks very happy with the ship. The ramp is down, and he shoots both her and Maz a smile and then darts up into the ship.

Maz chuckles, and she and Jyn follow him at a slightly more sedate pace. “Come on, Kiddo. Let’s allow Mr. Rook some time in the cockpit. I’ll show you the rest.”

Jyn nods, and she follows Maz as she shows Jyn the cargo area, pointing out the promised supplies. At the weapons locker, Jyn grabs two blasters and two holsters. She puts one on herself and slips the gun into it, and she puts the other blaster and holster in a bag to take to Cassian.

They stop briefly at the gunner’s position, and Jyn checks it out. She emerges from it with a feral smile. “That’s kriffing excellent, Maz.”

Maz chuckles, and then they head to the crew quarters. Jyn is surprised to see that there are three good-sized bunks. She’s even more surprised that one appears to have its own refresher, with the other two sharing one. She looks at Maz, who smiles up at her. “Kiddo, I had a lot to work with; that shuttle you all stole was worth a mint.”

She propels Jyn into the largest bunk, the one with the private fresher. There is a single bed in the room, one large enough for two, and it’s made up with sheets, pillows, and a soft blanket. “Sit.” Jyn does, putting them close to eye level with each other. “You and Captain Andor deserve to have a decent base of operations that is also a home after a fashion. I assume this will be the space the two of you share.”

Jyn nods without thinking, and then she feels a blush rise on her cheeks. She meets Maz’s eyes. “Yes. It’s new, but yes.” She pauses. “Are you able to perform marriages?”

Maz pats Jyn on the shoulder. “You bet I can. Before you leave, then?”

“Yes. It would be official, right?” Jyn wrings her hands together. This still feels crazy to her.

Reaching out, Maz uses both of her tiny hands to cover Jyn’s, holding them steady. “It would be. And in case you are concerned, I am not just happy to do it, I think it’s very wise and wonderful. Wise because it will help you two stay together, wonderful because while I’ve only seen you once before, I’ve known Captain Andor for years – you both only completely relax with each other. Even with your friends, you are slightly on edge. But not with each other. It’s astounding.”

“I trust him, even though I hate the thought that he’s doing this to protect me.” She looks up at Maz. “But I don’t trust his boss.”

Maz sighs and perches next to Jyn on the bed. “Davits Draven can be a real nerfherder when he wants to be. He’s good at his job.” Jyn scowls, and Maz must notice, because she pats Jyn’s leg. “But, while he gets results, he chews people up and spits them out with little or no care. Both Captain Andor and Sergeant Melshi are examples of that. I’m certain that Cassian is protecting you, but Jyn, he’s also protecting himself, and I for one am glad he finally is.”

“There are going to be days when we annoy the kriff out of each other. He can be earnest and then aloof, and I am am combative and wary. We are going to push each other’s buttons all the time.” Jyn frowns.

“And?” Maz snorts. “Sounds like most marriages I know. Do you love him, Jyn? Do you want this and want it to work?”

“Yes. To all of it.” She surprises herself with her own conviction.

“Then stop worrying.” Maz stands up. “Now, a few more things. One, you don’t want a dress or anything, do you?”

Jyn cringes. “Kriff no.”

Maz chuckles. “That’s what I thought. And two, the middle bunk is set up with two single-person beds. I assume that will be taken by Mr. Rook?”

Jyn nods. “I believe so. In the third, can we get a bed like this one set up for Chirrut and Baze?”

“Of course. And the padded benches in the common area can also be used for sleep. There will be plenty of room for you all to make your way back to your people.” Maz pats her arm again, and then she moves towards the door. “Take a moment, Kiddo. I’ll go get everything arranged for the other rooms and make sure you have what you need to make up the two padded benches in the common area.”

“One more thing, Maz. I’m going to give you a list of aliases, but I want to be sure that this ship is clearly owned by us, equally by the five of us. It’s not the Rebellion’s. I don’t want Draven or any of the rest of them to think they can take it.”

“Way ahead of you, Kiddo. It’s owned officially by a blind trust that no one will be able to track back. If they could slice that well, they’d see the names Nari and Will, not Jyn and Cassian. I’ll add the other three names to the trust when you provide them.”

“Maz, thank you again for everything. You didn’t have to do this for us.” Jyn wraps her arms around her waist.

Maz inclines her head and gives Jyn what looks like a smirk. “You’ll find that I generally do things because I want to, not because I have to.” She then pulls a long, narrow object from a small bag that she carries, placing the object on the desk. It’s a pouch with something clearly heavy in it. “And that’s for you. Consider it a wedding present.”

With that, she leaves Jyn alone in the bunk. Jyn knows she should get up and find Bodhi, but she instead flops back on the bed. It’s the softest bed she’s ever felt, and the soft blanket feels like an almost unbelievable luxury. She snuggles into it for a moment, closing her eyes.

Her cheeks flush as her mind fleetingly stops on what she and Cassian might do in this bed. As much as she can’t wait for more intimacy with him, though, what she really wants is to curl up with him here, maybe actually feeling safe enough to sleep soundly for the first time in years. She opens her eyes, looking up at the ceiling for a moment before rising.

She gives her knees a moment, and then she goes to the desk. The moment she picks up her gift from Maz, she knows exactly what it is. She opens the pouch, and a smooth black object slides into her hand. She examines it, and then she pushes a button on the hilt. A sidebar pops out, and Jyn grips the shaft and extends it by whipping her wrist.

It’s a collapsible truncheon, even better than her old one. She lost it somewhere between Eadu and here, and she’s thrilled to have this new one in her hands. The metal is clearly heavy and strong, but as she moves around with it, she’s surprised by how easy it is to handle. She collapses it, and seeing that it has a concealed clip, she attaches it to her belt. Between her new blaster and the truncheon, she feels a little more protected.

She goes to find Bodhi. He’s still in the cockpit when she locates him, engrossed in examining all of the controls. “Hey.” She says it softly, hoping not to startle him.

She winces when he jumps, and she gives him a sheepish smile. “Sorry, Bo. How does she look?”

He shakes his head. “It’s all right. And she’s perfect. The new Rogue One?”

“Sounds right to me.” She nods.

“I can fly this one alone if I have to, but it-it will be nice to have Cassian up here, too.” He cocks his head at her. “We should teach you to fly her, too.”

Jyn holds up her hands. “Oh no. Not me.”

He comes over to her. “C-Cassian and I may need back up now and then. Our other options are Chirrut or B-Baze. You s-seem the best option.”

Sighing, Jyn nods. “Point taken.” She smirks. “But I think we should ask Chirrut just to watch Cassian and Baze freak out.”

Bodhi chuckles. “I’ll l-let you do that.” He motions to the door. “Let’s head b-back. I would g-guess the others are ready to go.”

With that, they leave the new ship. Jyn is still somewhat speechless that it’s theirs, that Maz did this for them. She’d say that she can’t remember the last time someone went so far out of their way for her, but truthfully, what Cassian has done for her is even more. But Maz is a very close second.

As they walk, they pass some of what are clearly Maz’s people, bringing a bed and some more linen to the ship. She gives them a nod as she passes them. By the time they get back to the med bay, Cassian and the others, Melshi included, are dressed to go. Jyn meets Cassian’s eyes, and he beckons her to the side. She goes to him, and as she does, she pulls out the blaster and holster. He gives her a grateful look at that. He puts it on while she holds his cane, and he relaxes just like she did the moment she was armed.

As she hands him back the cane, he says, “Thank you.”

She nods. “How is Melshi?”

He sighs. “He’ll rally. He’s down right now. Treat him as normally as possible. Maz has been teasing him, and that has been more successful than I would have imagined.” He pauses. “How is the ship?”

She calls Bodhi over and replies, “It’s brilliant. We owe Maz one.” Bodhi gets to them. “Bodhi, Cass wants to know how the ship is? How is she mechanically?”

Bodhi looked nervous before, but that slides away as he tells Cassian about the ship. With a squeeze to Cassian’s arm, she steps away, going to Melshi, who sits quietly to the side of the group, Aari hovering nearby. “Sergeant.”

He snorts. “Sergeant.”

She just stands there for a moment, arms crossed over her chest, watching Cassian and Bodhi. She can tell that Melshi is doing the same. After a while, she says, “I can teach you to hit people like I hit you on Wobani. Don’t need your hands.”

She lifts an eyebrow and cuts her eyes down at him. He glares at her for a moment, then he snorts again and shakes his head. “Kriff off, Erso.”

“Offer’s open.” She smirks, but then she softens her look. “I’m glad you’re still with us, Melshi.”

After a moment, he sighs, looking down. “Beats the hells out of the alternative, I guess.”

“That’s true.” She doesn’t say anything else, just squeezes his shoulder gently and goes back to Cassian, who’s now talking to Maz. She heads towards them as Maz hands Cassian a small box, and he looks up, watching Jyn approach. Jyn feels warm all over at the look in his eyes; in her life, no one has ever looked at her like that – as though all they want from her is her. Softly, Jyn breathes out, “Guess we’re doing this then.”

**********

It’s nearly two days later when Cassian and Bodhi pilot the new Rogue One into the atmosphere of Yavin 4. Kes and Jyn sit behind them while Cassian sends security codes down to the surface, and Jyn hears the intake of breath when Bodhi announces their designation of Rogue One.

Cassian sees multiple X-Wings rise from the base to escort them down, and he sees the anti-aircraft weapons pivot to focus on them. They’re given clearance to land, and Cassian looks at Bodhi. “Slow and steady, my friend. They’ll only shoot if we are aggressive.”

Bodhi nods, and Cassian is amazed by how the usually-nervous man is entirely different at the helm of a ship. “Got it.”

They’re accompanied all the way down, and Bodhi gently settles the ship where they’re directed to. Once they power down the engines, Jyn and Cassian exchange a look, and they lock the ship down using coding Maz showed them.

A voice comes over the comm telling them to come out unarmed, hands raised. Cassian agrees with the caveat that one will be in a chair, Melshi; that one, Chirrut, will have a stick for both his blindness and support; and that he, Cassian, will have a cane for walking support. The voice acknowledges him, and they all nod to each other. Cassian stands and lets Jyn pass him his cane. Bodhi and Kes leave the cockpit, and Cassian leans down to her, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “We’re going to be fine, Jyn.”

She swallows hard and takes a deep breath. “Let’s go.” They head out, joining the others at the ramp. Bodhi stands at that control, and Jyn looks at all of them. “Hands up, no weapons.” She and Cassian both had anticipated this, and they didn’t wear their blasters today.

They all agree, Baze with irritation, and Cassian says, “Me and Jyn first. Then Kes, then Aari with Melshi, then Baze, Chirrut, and Bodhi, then you two. Got it?” They all nod, including the last two, the uninjured soldiers they’d had on patrol at Takodana, and Cassian looks at Bodhi. “Open it, Bodhi.”

Bodhi hits the control to lower the ramp, and once it’s down, Cassian looks down at Jyn. “Ready?”

She smiles gamely. “Not really, but I trust you.”

With that, they slowly descend the ramp, hands raised. Jyn feels Kes come behind them, and she’s knows he’s almost vibrating with anticipation at seeing his wife. Jyn tenses slightly as they exit the ship. They get to the surface, quickly joined by Kes, hands raised. There are several heavily armed soldiers with blasters trained on them, and Jyn scowls when she sees Mon Mothma and Draven standing there, Draven’s expression matching her own.

Then, from the back of the waiting group, Jyn sees a person moving forward, a mass of wild black curls coming through the crowd. “Kes!”

At that, Jyn can see that Kes can’t stay still. A woman breaks through the line even as Draven barks, “Lieutenant Bey, stand down,” at her.

She ignores him, and Kes bolts forward, colliding with the woman in front of them, both of them going to their knees as the woman wraps her arms around him. She lets him kiss her soundly, and then she bursts into tears, burying her face in his neck. Jyn tears up as she watches Kes stroke her hair, rocking them back and forth as he tries to comfort her. “I’m so sorry, Shara, baby, we’re all right. We’re both still here. I even brought Cass back. We’re all right, baby.”

Much to Draven’s clear consternation, the assembled crowd bursts into spontaneous applause, hooting and shouting encouragement as Kes kisses Shara again. Draven looks disgusted, but Senator Mothma approaches them serenely. “You may put your hands down, Captain Andor, Miss Erso.” She spies Aari with Melshi. “Sergeant Melshi, Mr. Eriston, would you like to head to medical, please?”

Aari nods. “Yes ma’am. Everyone should be checked over. We had medical care, but I’d like to reconfirm everyone’s condition, even Kes and I, who weren’t injured in any meaningful way.”

The woman nods, serenely again, as they’re joined by Draven. He scowls at Jyn again before looking at Cassian. “Andor, debrief now.”

Cassian shakes his head. “No sir. We’ll go to medical first, then Jyn and I will sit down with you and Senator Mothma.”

“No, now. Erso can go to medical. I will talk to her later.”

Draven’s scowl deepens, and Jyn feels Cassian’s hand land protectively on her lower back. “Respectfully, no, sir. And it’s Andor, Sergeant Andor per her field commission.”

“What?” Draven looks stunned at the push back. “And what do you mean, it’s Andor?”

Cassian stands up as straight as he can with the cane, and he meets Draven’s eye without flinching away at all. “I mean that my wife and I will go to medical, and then we will be happy to meet with you and the rest of the leadership to tell you everything that has happened. And as for our ship, it has been secured. There is nothing to be done to it. When we need to check it over, Captain Rook and I will take care of it.”

Silence descends over the assembled group, and Jyn notices that the Senator’s eyes skip across her and Cassian, clearly spotting their matching silver rings, gifts from Maz. She inclines her head when she catches Jyn’s eye. “That sounds excellent, Captain Andor, Sergeant Andor. We’ll see you after you visit medical.” Her expression drops. “We have much to discuss.”

Jyn feels ill, because she knows what that look was about. They’d heard about Alderaan already, via comm chatter when they’d briefly dropped out of lightspeed the day before. She’d thrown up again and collapsed. Baze had lifted her and carried her to bed after – it had nearly drained every ounce of fight she had left, knowing that they’d been too late, that her father’s monstrosity had taken so much. Cassian had joined her silently, scooting into the bed behind her and holding her tight until she stopped shaking like a leaf.

Cassian must know what she’s thinking about, because his hand leaves her back and goes to her hand, gripping it tight as he entwines their fingers. “It’s all right, Bella.” He says the words softly and lifts their hands to drop a kiss to the back of hers. Senator Mothma’s and Draven’s eyes both widen at that.

Cassian motions to the others behind them. “Follow me.”

Without letting go of Jyn’s hand, Cassian leads them to medical, his cane held tight in his free hand, the others following close. Jyn admires his stoicism as he walks, but she smirks when it breaks slightly at the sound of Shara Bey’s voice saying, “Kes Dameron, what the karking hells did I miss?”


	4. Confrontations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jyn and Cassian face off with Draven as the Rebellion faces off with the Empire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: So, it’s been a while, and I anticipate that it will continue to take a while to churn out these chapters. At least they’re pretty long!
> 
> I have ideas for this story that will actually take it all the way through and into the sequel trilogy. I also recognize that to be outlandishly aspirational, so we’ll see if I get there. This will be a monster story if I do, but it’ll be achieved with time jumps. I do recognize that J/C may both seem a little OOC here, but since we only saw a small slice of them in the movie, I’m taking liberties.
> 
> Here we have recovery and establishment of autonomy, with a side dish of weaving in the canon. Oh, and I despise Draven.
> 
> Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.

“So, how much trouble will you be in for that?” Jyn looks at Cassian as she settles next to him on a bed in medical. Aari directed them here, and she and Cassian are in an area waiting to be checked over. 

Cassian snorts. “I don’t know. Probably a lot, but not with the Senator. Mothma is on my side, I’d guess.”

“I think you’ll be right about that. Her frustration with the Council when they refused to move on Scarif was obvious.” She dips her head. “Thank you.” She says the words softly, and he looks at her. She’s staring down at her lap, her hands clasping and un-clasping nervously.

He reaches over and takes one of her hands in his, entwining their fingers. “For what?”

She sighs. “For pushing back on him. For telling him no. I know that went against your nature. I want to be respectful of you, Cass, and of your position here.”

“Jyn, bella, no.” She turns her eyes up to him. “Jyn, you never have to thank me for standing up for you. If anything, I am grateful to you for finally making me stand up for myself.”

“Me too.” They both look up in surprise, and Jyn shrinks into Cassian’s side a little on instinct. A woman is standing there, hands on her hips. It takes Jyn a second to process that it’s Kes’s wife, Shara. “I don’t know how you managed it, Sergeant Andor. Kes and I have been trying for a long time to get him to stop being so karking selfless all the time. I’m very happy that someone finally got through to him.”

Cassian wants to be annoyed, but the look on Shara’s face is so relieved and fond that he can’t. She also has huge circles under her eyes, and Cassian can tell she hasn’t been sleeping. “Kes was a huge help to us the last few days, Shara, but he was going crazy wanting to get back to you. Are they checking him over now?”

The woman nods and blushes lightly, and she moves her hands from her hips to wring together, her twisting her wedding ring. She moves closer to them, and she softly says, “I thought he was dead, Cassian.”

Releasing Jyn’s hand, Cassian reaches out, and Shara moves in, hugging him, her shoulders shaking. Jyn is briefly surprised, but then she remembers Cassian saying that Kes and Shara are the people who tried to draw him out more than anyone else here. After a minute or so, Shara takes a deep, shuddering breath and steps back slightly. Cassian squeezes her arm. “You all right?”

“I am now that he’s back.” She eyes Cassian. “Please tell me you’re done with Draven and Intelligence.” She looks at Jyn. “Please. I hope you can talk sense into him.”

“I didn’t have to say much, but I think I have.” Jyn smiles shyly. She’s not used to this kind of camaraderie, caring about each other’s safety. “He knows I think Draven is a steaming pile of bantha fodder who has been using him like a disposable tool.”

“He does that with all of his spies. It’s offensive. Even if the work needs to be done, his people – not assets, but people – are not expendable. He’s treated Cassian like he’s a machine for years.” Shara shakes her head.

Cassian shakes his head. “Please stop talking about me like I’m not here.” He’s not angry at Shara’s words, but he wants to be clear. “Shara, you know I appreciate the care and concern you have always shown me, but I was complicit, and I said the same to Jyn. I allowed it for the good of the Rebellion. I knew how Draven saw me. I went along.”

He retakes Jyn’s hand. “I just finally have a compelling reason to stop, to figure out other ways to contribute.”

“Good.” Shara smiles, a gentle expression. “You know it’s just because we care, Cassian. Me and Kes have worried about you a lot, my friend.” She pauses. “Kes told me about the ship and what you want to do now. I like it. I just hope you’ll be able to report to someone like Cracken instead of kriffing Draven.”

Jyn tenses, and Cassian’s face hardens. He squeezes Jyn’s hand and replies, “That’s going to be non-negotiable. I’ll retire before reporting to Draven again. None of the rest of my crew, save Melshi, are officially part of the Alliance. We’ll fight on our own before I’ll subject Jyn, Bodhi, and the others to his control. No matter his intentions, no matter his justification.”

“Good.” Shara nods decisively. “By the way, you’re the only survivors that were smart enough to not come straight back here. The others stole a huge troop transport. I thought Draven was going to blow a gasket. Luckily, their pilot was at least smart enough to check for trackers.”

Jyn sits up a little straighter, and she exchanges a look with Cassian. He asks, “How many? Any others from Rogue One? Sefla or Tonc?”

Shara frowns. “No, I’m sorry, Cassian. You lot are the only Rogue One survivors. This was the second wave. One troop transport got out, troops from the beaches.”

“Is that the group Kes and Aari and the other two came with?” Jyn speaks up.

“Yes. I could still kill him, but I understand why he went. He was in the first ship to leave. I talked to him – he said that he, Aari and the other two found your pilot along with the Guardians and Melshi before heading to the Citadel where they stole that Delta.” She smiles. “I want to talk to your pilot. He sounds tough as hell.”

Jyn nods slightly. “More so than you know. Actually, where is he?” Shara motions to the other side of the room, and Jyn carefully slides off of the bed. She looks at Cassian. “I want to go check on him, Cass, make sure he tells the medics about what happened at Saw’s.”

He frowns, but then he realizes why. Jyn told him about Bor Gullet on their way here from Takodana. “Yes, all right. I know the doctor wants to check me. But you have to let a doctor check your knees, too, bella.”

“I promise, I’ll let them.” She leans up and kisses him quickly, then she heads over to where Bodhi sits, looking anxious.

Cassian watches her leave, and then he catches Shara smirking at him. “Have something to say, Lieutenant Bey?”

Kes joins them as Shara responds, “I’m just happy for you, Captain Andor.”

Wrapping an arm around Shara’s waist, Kes agrees. “Me too. Me and Shara had to forcibly scale the walls you have, Cassian. But with Jyn, it looks like she was able to just walk right through them. How did that happen, exactly?”

Cassian shrugs slightly, wincing at the pull to his ribs. “If no one had taken me in like Travia did back on Fest,” he refers to Travia Chan, the woman who eventually became the leader of the Resistance on Atrivis, “I could have been her, Kes. Scrapping and slicing to get by. I read her file, and while I didn’t necessarily understand her personally, I still saw a little of myself in her.” 

Outside of Draven, only Shara and Kes have any knowledge of his past. Kes nods. “I get it.” He reaches over and squeezes Cassian’s shoulder as Aari approaches with a doctor. “I’ve not gotten a chance to say it, but I’m sorry about K-2, my friend. I’ll actually miss that sarcastic murderbot.”

“Jyn called him ‘Target Practice.’” Cassian smiles and shakes his head, blinking back surprising tears as Kes and Shara both laugh. He looks up. “Thanks, Kes.”

He looks for Aari and sees that he and the doctor have stopped at another bed. His eyes catch Jyn as she wraps Bodhi up in a hug. The man clings to her, and he can’t help but be concerned. He’s not jealous – he is sure of Jyn’s feelings for him and what she feels for Bodhi. They’re all actually more than a little protective of Bodhi, and the expression on Jyn’s face tells him the Bodhi is struggling. 

Shara tracks where his eyes are fixed. “What’s the story on that?”

Cassian blinks. “Bodhi Rook. From Jedha,” Shara winces, and Cassian nods before going on, “A Captain, defected from the Imps to bring the message from Galen Erso to Saw. Saw didn’t trust him and tortured him to try to verify him. He was the pilot for Rogue One, and he got us off of Scarif with severe burns to his arm and face and a dislocated shoulder. He’s jumpy and anxious, but he’s good.”

“Kriff. And the Guardians, they’re from Jedha, too, right?” Kes asks.

“Yes.” Cassian sighs. “We’re definitely overall a matched set of bad luck.”

Shara laughs softly. “Well put.” Aari and the doctor arrive at his bed. “Come on, Kes. Let’s let Captain Andor talk to the doc.” She looks at Cassian. “Don’t leave without saying good-bye, Cass.”

He nods. “I won’t.” With that, he submits to being scanned, keeping an eye on Bodhi and Jyn as they talk to another doctor.

X X X X X X X X 

When Jyn gets to Bodhi, she can see that he’s nearly vibrating with anxiety. He’s rocking slightly, and he’s muttering, “I’m the pilot,” over and over again.

“Bo?” Jyn steps right in front of him, but she doesn’t touch him yet. “Are you with me, Bodhi?” Bodhi’s wide, expressive eyes blink open, and she nods. “That’s good. You all right?”

He takes a shuddering breath. “Y-yeah.”

“Bodhi, I think we should tell the doctor about what Saw did to you. They may be able to help you.” He nods, and she leans in and hugs him. “No matter what, Bo, me, Cass, Baze, and Chirrut, we trust you. If they can’t do anything for you, that’s fine. You’re still our pilot.”

He hugs her back, basically clinging to her. They stay that way for a while. Jyn waits for him to loosen his grip. When he finally does, she waves a doctor over, a woman with short brown hair and a stern but kind expression. “Yes? Captain Rook, did you need something else?”

Bodhi flutters his hands wordlessly, and Jyn steps forward. She looks around to make sure no one else is near, and then she asks, “Are you familiar with the Mairan?”

The doctor blinks. “What? No one used one of those, did they? That’s unforgivable.”

Jyn swallows hard. “Saw Gerrera had one. Bor Gullet. He used it to interrogate Captain Rook.”

The woman shakes her head. “Oh, dear boy, I’m so sorry. How are you still lucid?”

Bodhi shrugs. “I’m the pilot.”

When the doctor gives Jyn a questioning look, she explains, “Doctor, Captain Andor found Captain Rook in a cell, and he somehow got Bodhi to focus on being the pilot.”

The doctor nods. “I’ll make a note of that as a treatment.” She gently pats Bodhi on his uninjured arm. “Get the victim to focus on who they are. Give them a point of reference. It’s elegantly simple.”

Jyn has to smother a snort. She knows Cassian well enough to know that he was just trying to identify Bodhi, not be elegant or clever. “Doctor, is there any treatment available?”

She sighs and shakes her head. “Nothing reparative, but I have some holos of relaxation and focus techniques, and there are anti-anxiety medications that might help considerably with managing symptoms.”

Bodhi nods. “C-can I try those?”

“Give me a moment.” The doctor steps away, and she returns with a hypospray. She injects Bodhi with it. “It’s time-release. That injection will be good for a standard month. It was a low dose. A second one won’t hurt you, but let’s see if that low dose is enough to help you settle. It’ll take several hours to kick in. I can give you enough for a few months, and I’ll give Sergeant Andor the holos. The immediate effect, which will fade in hours, is that it’s going to make you a bit sleepy.”

Looking up, Bodhi says, “Thank you. And please add Sergeant Andor, Captain Rook, Baze Malbus, and Chirrut Imwe as proxies for my medical records and care?”

“I’ll do that.” The doctor looks at Jyn. “And you. Have you been checked out?”

Jyn shakes her head. “Not since we got help before coming here. Both knees were sprained, but the braces Aari put on them have helped a lot.”

The doctor motions to the bed next to Bodhi’s, but Jyn notices that Bodhi’s eyes are getting heavy. She goes to him first. “Bo, stretch out on the bed.” 

He nods, and he lies down, curling up on his un-burned side as Jyn pulls a blanket over him. “Th-thank you.”

Jyn gently brushes his hair back. “Anytime, Bodhi. Rest now.”

In moments, the man is asleep, and Jyn looks at the doctor. She smiles kindly. “That’s normal. He’s a wonder, though, if he’s that calm and clear after a Mairan. I’ll be writing some notes on him.” She motions to the bed. “Now up you go.”

Jyn complies, and the doctor begins her scan as Cassian approaches, still leaning on his cane. She catches his eye. “Are you all right? What did the doctor say?”

“Confirmed Aari’s diagnosis. Hairline fractures to my hip and leg, cracked but not broken ribs. I’ll be sore for several weeks, but my back looks fine.” He sees the doctor finish her scan. “You?”

Jyn looks at the doctor, who replies, “Your knees are improving from what Mr. Eriston described. Keep the braces on for at least another week, and use bacta wraps for the next night or two when you sleep. You’re otherwise fine.”

“Thank you.” She looks at Cassian. “Bodhi asked that we, along with Baze and Chirrut, be his medical proxies. I’m doing the same.”

Cassian nods. “We should all do that, as well as adding Kes and Shara.” He looks at the doctor. “Can you get consent for that from Mr. Malbus and Mr. Imwe? And remove anyone from Alliance leadership from my list, please. I no longer consent to them having medical authority over me.”

The doctor blinks, but at Cassian’s expression, she nods, looking down at her datapad. After a moment, she smirks. “You have to tell General Draven. I cannot abide that man.”

Cassian rolls his eyes when Jyn snorts at that. He holds out his free hand to her, and he pulls her to her feet. “Time to go talk to them?” She looks unhappy about it.

He keeps hold of her hand. “Yes. Might as well take care of it now.” He turns to the doctor. “Please let us know if any of our friends have any issues, especially Mr. Imwe.”

“I will, Captain. But Mr. Imwe is doing well. The bacta treatments were very good.” She nods to him and steps away.

Jyn looks up at Cassian. “Can we stop by the ship on the way to Command?”

“Why?” He looks confused.

“I want to get the datapad I took from the Delta. Were you able to slice the Stardust file?” 

He motions towards the door, and she heads for it, him close on her heels. “No. I was honestly having trouble staying awake.” He keeps up with her despite the cane, his longer legs making it easy to match her speed.

“I’d say that’s forgivable.” She smirks.

After they stop by Rogue One and collect the datapad, Jyn slipping it into a crossbody bag, Cassian comms ahead that they’re coming. They head for Command, and she tells him about the medication the doctor gave Bodhi. She warms when she sees his reaction, one of both sadness and relief – sadness that they can’t undo the damage done to their friend, but relief that there are medications that might help him manage the aftermath.

As they move through the hallways, Jyn is surprised to see people stepping back and nodding respectfully, some even saluting, as they pass. When they arrive to Command, one of Mothma’s aides is waiting for them. She ushers them into a conference room, and a moment later, Mothma and Draven enter. Cassian is surprised to see General Dodonna enter with them as well. He approaches Cassian as Draven scowls. Draven looks almost incandescently angry, making Cassian wonder what has happened in the last hour.

The older man holds out his hand. “Well done, Captain.”

Cassian releases Jyn’s hand to shake Dodonna’s. “Thank you, General, but the mission would have failed without my wife.” He motions to Jyn. “Sergeant Jyn Erso Andor, sir.”

“Honored to meet you.” He holds his hand out, and Jyn nods and shakes with him.

“Thank you, sir.” She is confused by this reaction, but she just follows Cassian’s lead.

They all sit at the table, Jyn and Cassian on one side and Senator Mothma flanked by Dodonna and Draven on the other. Mothma is the first to speak. “Captain Andor, Sergeant Andor, I would like you both to know that the Scarif mission is now officially sanctioned. Captain,” she looks at Cassian, “You nor any of the other members of the Rebellion, whether on your original team or on a later wave, will receive any kind of reprimand other than me now looking at you and sternly advising you to please not do that again.”

Cassian nods, and Jyn finds his hand under the table, taking it and squeezing it. He looks at Mothma. “Thank you, Senator.”

“Further,” she continues, “Operation Fracture, the Operation originally designed by General Cracken to find and extract Galen Erso, has been recorded as a failure.” Draven shifts, and Jyn stiffens, making Cassian frown in concern. 

He exchanges a look with Mothma, who goes on, “Sergeant, it has been recorded as such because the result was well outside of the sanctioned parameters. Your father was not intended to be targeted, at least not as the mission was originally intended. General Draven made those changes to the mission, and neither I nor any other member of the Council authorized them.”

“It was my mission at that point, Senator,” Draven growls. “It was the correct call. A war criminal was taken out, an Imperial sympathizer. I stand by it.”

The room is silent for a moment, but then Jyn coldly replies. “Do you? We are now at significant risk because of that call.”

“If you hadn’t lost the plans, Erso, we wouldn’t be in this position. My guess is that you’re as much of a sympathizer as your father.” The man eyes her like she is less than dirt on his shoe, and she has had enough.

All of the others begin to protest, but Jyn holds up her hands, stopping them. She stands up and slams her hands down on the table. She looks at the Senator, remembering that she is the most junior person in the room. The Senator nods, and Jyn eyes Draven. “General Draven, any risk we are exposed to now is entirely of your making. The lives lost on Scarif and our current position could have been prevented if you hadn’t called in the strike on Eadu. We had my father. We could have brought him in. Your decision cost us the actual designer. We could have the flaw identified now if it was not for you. I’m sorry if you want someone else to blame, but there is no one here deserving of blame outside of you.”

She takes a deep breath, and, without sitting back down, she adds, “For the purposes of your so-called de-brief. We’ll send you a written report of what happened on Scarif. From the point that the plans were transmitted, we have no knowledge other than of our own escape. We stole a large Delta Class shuttle. We traded that for the Corellian freighter we now own, equally, the five of us – me, Cassian, Bodhi Rook, Baze Malbus, and Chirrut Imwe. We received medical aid, as you know, on Takodana. Got married. Then returned here. End of story.”

Draven rises, facing off with Jyn, and Cassian rises, too. He looks Draven in the eye, and he says, “General, I have always respected you and your goals, but you were wrong this time. I advise you, respectfully, to think hard before you say anything further insulting my wife. I’ve never once in my life struck a superior officer, but trust me when I say that I will not hesitate to do so if this continues. She has more loyalty and care for the people on this base than you do. Do not question her allegiance again.”

“Are you threatening me, Andor?” Draven’s scowl deepens.

Jyn is surprised when Cassian replies. “Kriffing right I am. Let me be clear, General. One more word against my wife, and I will retire on the spot and then beat you to death with my Force-forsaken cane.” 

Mothma holds up her hands, unruffled as she usually is. In fact, Jyn thinks she’s amused. “Sergeant, Captain, please, re-take your seats.” They do, and then she looks up at Draven. “General, you are dismissed.”

“What?” Draven’s eyes darken even further, but Mothma is clearly not intimidated.

“General, Captain Andor, soon to be Major Andor, is no longer under your command.” Jyn and Cassian exchange a surprised glance, and Mothma adds, “General Cracken and Dodonna will decide which of them he and his crew, inclusive of his wife, Captain Rook, and Sergeant Melshi, will report to.” She then looks at Cassian and Jyn, her eyebrow wryly raised. “I assume that the Guardians from Jedha are more participants than followers.”

Jyn swallows a laugh, and Cassian replies, “That’s accurate, Senator.” Draven scowls again, but then he turns and leaves. Cassian keeps his eyes on Mothma, but Jyn sees him flinch slightly when Draven slams the door. “Do you have some knowledge of what we want to do, Senator, or was that an educated guess?”

“Something of both, Major. You are, by the way, officially promoted to Major. And Sergeants Melshi and Andor are both promoted all the way to Captain. Captain Rook, if he wants to officially join the Alliance, will retain his rank.” She cocks her head at Cassian. “And I have some awareness because, like most of the rest of the galaxy, I also know Maz Kanata.”

Dodonna snorts, and Jyn and Cassian both look at him. He smiles, then, something slightly feral, and Jyn guesses that he and Draven aren’t fond of one another. “Major, I assume you want to go into recruiting and maybe odd jobs here and there?” Cassian blinks, and Dodonna chuckles. “Andor, you were one of the best recruiters we’ve ever had, especially in the Outer Rim. You also are too good at what you do to stop entirely.”

Cassian relaxes. “Yes sir. But we want a level of autonomy. We own our ship ourselves, and yes, Captain Rook and the Guardians will join us. I’ve spoken with Melshi. He’d like to be our contact on base.”

“All right.” Dodonna nods, and he pulls out a datapad. “Cracken and I spoke last night. Especially because we think your most important focus should be the growing unrest in the Outer Rim, you’ll report directly to him. Captains Melshi, Andor, and Rook will report to you, but I’m hopeful that you’ll let me borrow Captain Melshi now and then, as he’s an excellent asset – his ability to design an op is strong. I’d like to have him as a direct consultant for any covert ground operations we have.”

“You’ll have to confirm with him, sir, but I am amenable to that.” Cassian nods.

“You’ll be funded, but we have limitations I’m sure you’re aware of.” 

Jyn speaks up. “We have some credits, and we can actually pick up legitimate cargo work and such to make extra. It’ll actually do well for our covers.”

“Agreed. General, Senator, whatever support we get will be appreciated, but since we own our ship outright, we won’t need much to stay operational long-term.” Cassian feels hope in his chest, and idea that this work will be incredibly freeing for him – furthering the interests of the Rebellion but also protecting Jyn and his new found-family. 

“Write it up, Major. You can submit that write up to myself, the Senator, and General Cracken. We may have comments, but I’m guessing if we don’t sign off, you’ll retire.” He lifts an eyebrow at Cassian. “We’re good so long as you don’t try to beat us to death with your cane.”

Jyn barks out a laugh at that, and Cassian shakes his head and sheepishly replies. “I’ll keep that in mind, sir. And yes, I’ll retire. I’ve run more successful ops than anyone else in the history of Rebel Intelligence, well over twenty. I’m ready to do something different, preferably something where the people here aren’t wondering if this is the one where I won’t come back, because you and I both know that spies do not have a long life expectancy.” He finds Jyn’s hand again and squeezes it. “I was actually fine with that before, but I am not anymore.”

“Nor am I, just for the record.” Jyn smiles up at him. She then takes off the bag and pulls out the datapad. She slides it across the table to Dodonna. “General, there is a file on there entitled ‘Stardust.’ Get your best slicers on it. That’s the name of the file that contained the plans on Scarif. I doubt seriously that this holds the plans. If for no other reason, there was no security on the datapad itself. But there may be history on it. If there’s anything about my family, I’d appreciate hearing about it.”

“Why Stardust? Do you know?” General Dodonna cocks his head at her.

“Yes.” She sighs and softly replies, “Stardust is me.” 

When Mothma and Dodonna look confused, Cassian explains, “Her father called her that as a child. He named the entire project something Jyn would recognize when the moment came.”

Mothma looks like she’s about to respond when a banging at the door makes them all jump. Jyn and Cassian both have their hands on their blasters. “Senator, General!” It’s an aide at the door, and she says, “There is a ship incoming, a freighter, and Princess Leia is onboard!”

Jyn looks at Cassian, hope blooming in her chest. He swallows hard, and she can tell he’s feeling the same. He gruffly says, “Come on, bella.” He takes her hand, and she follows him to the hangar, her hand tight in his.

As they get there, Jyn is surprised to see an old freighter, clearly Corellian like Rogue One, though in far less pristine condition, land in the hangar. Cassian squeezes her hand so tight that it’s almost painful.

Cassian’s mind is racing, and lets Jyn’s hand anchor him to reality. As the ramp to the ship comes down, he releases a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding when Leia emerges in her usual white, this time tattered and stained. Even across the hangar where they’re climbing on a small transport, he can see that her face is smudged. Jyn must sense it when he relaxes, because she says, “Is that her?”

He nods. “Yes. That’s Leia.”

“And the others?” She pauses. “And a wookiee?”

“No idea.” The little cart the princess is on pulls up, and she jumps off, accompanied by a blond man about her age, a man older than them, and a huge wookiee and two droids. “Leia!” Cassian calls to her, and Jyn is surprised to see the woman’s weariness melt away slightly. 

She moves swiftly to Cassian, hugging him tight. He pulls her in even closer, and under his breath, Jyn hears him mutter a curse in Huttese, the princess responding in what must be Festian. When she steps back, she says, “I’m glad you made it off of Scarif, Andor.”

He shrugs. “Me too.”

Leia eyes Jyn. “And who is this?”

Jyn tenses slightly, but she only sees curiosity in the woman’s gaze. “I’m Jyn. Jyn,” she hesitates.

Cassian puts an arm around her shoulder and pulls her into his side, pressing a kiss to her temple. He then looks at Leia. “Leia, this is Jyn Andor, Jyn Erso Andor, my wife.”

“Wait, Erso?” She blinks. “And your wife? What the karking hells, Cass?” Then, she waves her hands and goes all business. “R2!”

A battered astromech rolls up, and Jyn grins at what sounds like a stream of expletives coming out of the droid. Her binary is minimal, but she knows the important stuff. Her guess is confirmed when a gold protocol droid is clearly scandalized.

A commander comes over, and Leia instructs him, “Commander, use the plans in this droid’s memory banks. I uploaded them before my ship was taken by Vader. And check for beacons. I’m pretty sure it’s following us.”

Jyn and Cassian had exchanged a happy look at the mention of the plans, but then Cassian asks, “What’s following you?”

Leia looks at them, and Jyn remembers that she’s from Alderaan. It makes her heart hurt. Leia frowns. “The Death Star.”

X X X X X X X X 

From the moment Leia says those words, it’s a whirlwind. Cassian heads to Command while Jyn splits off for a moment to go update the others in medical. She considers trying to convince Cassian to leave, get the others on Rogue One and get out of here. But she knows Bodhi is probably still out of it and Chirrut is probably still under close observation. She settles for telling Chirrut, Baze, and Melshi what’s going on. They promise to tell Bodhi when he wakes up.

Jyn gets back to Command, and she’s surprised when she’s just allowed in. There is a briefing going on, and she finds Cassian watching from the back. She slips up next to him, and she takes his hand. There’s someone tall in front of her, and she’s oddly charmed when Cassian pulls her in front of himself, giving her a clear line of sight. He drops a kiss to her temple, and she leans back into him gently. The hand not on his cane wraps around her waist.

Moments later, the schematic of her father’s monstrosity appears in front of them, and she shrinks back into Cassian. His arm tightens around her, and he softly says, “It’s all right, Bella. You’re all right.” 

She swallows hard and nods, unable to tear her eyes from the thing. Cassian is scanning the room, and his breath stutters a little when he sees Shara there, listening intently. His heart goes out to Kes in that moment, as he’s suddenly acutely aware of how his friend must be feeling. His attention is drawn back to the briefing when the yellow-haired farm boy who came in with Leia says something about womp rats. 

The briefing breaks up then, all of the pilots heading for the hangar. Shara stops and gives both him and Jyn a quick hug. When she hugs Cassian, she whispers, “Cass, promise me, if I don’t come back from this, take Kes with you. Don’t leave him here. He won’t be all right.”

Swallowing hard, Cassian nods as she steps back. “We will.”

With that, Shara goes, running after the rest of the pilots. He looks at Jyn, and he can see that she heard Shara. She just moves in and hugs him close, marveling to herself at the notion of desiring physical contact so much. She realizes that she’s probably been touch-starved for years, never trusting anyone so never getting close. She’s certainly never felt so safe with someone else, not even the one boy she got close to in Saw’s ranks. 

After a moment the step away from each other, and they go to the console in the center of the room, standing near the princess and a shiny gold protocol droid they learn is named C-3PO. As the squadrons take off, Jyn finds Cassian’s hand with hers, and she wraps her free hand around her kyber necklace. Meeting the princess’s eyes, Jyn softly says, “May the Force be with us.”

Leia nods, her eyes lingering on the crystal. Jyn realizes that the woman is a little entranced by the necklace, but then the princess blinks and shakes her head, and it’s as if the moment never happened. The next several minutes are the longest of Jyn’s life. They listen to the battle through the voices of the pilots, and Jyn feels a little sicker every time one goes down.

At one point, they hear Shara’s voice calling for cover, and then Cassian nearly sags with relief when her ship is disabled and she’s ordered to fall back. They hold their breaths through the near miss first pass on the exhaust port, and it seems like it’s a losing proposition when the young farm boy, Luke Skywalker, turns off his targeting computer.

Jyn feels something, though, her crystal turning warm in her hand. She looks up at Cassian, and she takes his hand, wrapping it around the crystal. His eyes widen, and they both look back at the display as it says the Death Star is in range. Then, they hear a yell telling Luke he’s all clear, and in the next moments, they actually feel the shockwave when the Death Star explodes.

Jyn nearly collapses, Cassian taking her weight, his cane clattering to the floor. Tears well in her eyes, as she breathes out, “We did it, Papa. You did it.”

Cassian feels Jyn trembling in his arms, and he hugs her tight to him, dropping a kiss to the top of her head even as his leg screams at him when he has to support some of her weight. A moment later, almost as though she read his mind, she straightens up, not only relieving him of her weight but also supporting him with her shoulder under his armpit, taking some of his weight. “Sorry about that.” She looks up at him. “And thank you.”

He leans in, dropping his head to rest on hers. “Anytime, bella.” Cassian then feels a tap to his shoulder. He looks for the source, and then he straightens up again. “Leia.”

Jyn looks at the woman who is even younger and shorter than her, and she says quietly, “Princess, I’m so sorry about Alderaan.” 

Leia tears up, shaking her head. “That wasn’t your fault; it wasn’t even your father’s. Vader and Tarkin made that choice.” She gives Jyn a weak smile and holds out her hand.

“We skipped this earlier – I’m Leia Organa. None of that princess nonsense. It’s just Leia.” Jyn takes a risk, uttering some words in Huttese describing something anatomically impossible that Vader and Tarkin can do to themselves, and Leia cracks a genuine, if watery, smile. She grins at Jyn. “Oh, I like you.” She looks up at Cassian. “Well chosen, Andor.”

“Lucky is more like it, Leia.” Leia blinks at the uncharacteristic honesty from him, and he reaches out and squeezes her shoulder. “I’m glad you are all right, my friend. Go greet them. Jyn and I are going to go check on our team.”

When they arrive back in medical, it’s in disarray. They’re packing up. Aari comes over to them as they enter. “Captain, we’re evacuating. Even though the Death Star is destroyed, the Empire knows where we are.” 

“Major.” Jyn corrects Aari. “He’s a major now. I’m a captain, believe it or not.”

Cassian shakes his head. “Where are our people?”

Aari laughs. “In a private room. Melshi is with them for now, but he’ll be moved to the medical frigate shortly for his physical therapy for his back. And before you ask, yes, he’ll be able to work from there. General Dodonna sent orders for the set up.”

Cassian and Jyn follow Aari to a back room. The medic continues, “I have put together a large crate of medical supplies, Major, Captain. Bacta patches and gel, wraps, pain meds and other treatment meds.” He pauses and looks at them. “And the anti-anxiety medications for Captain Rook. He woke up a few minutes ago. He said he feels fine, but Major, you should probably pilot if you leave in the next several standard hours. After that, he should be fine. But there are instructions and descriptions of possible reactions in a datapad I put in the crate.”

Jyn nods. “Thank you, Aari.”

“We can’t thank you enough for helping us so much.” Cassian adds. “We might have had more losses if it hadn’t been for you.”

Aari colors. “It was an honor, Major.”

He waves them into the room. Jyn is surprised to see all of them dressed in some semblance of their regular clothes, blended with standard Alliance gear. Bodhi has found a new pair of goggles, but his clothes are Alliance. The Guardians have the parts of their clothes that were still intact combined with other Alliance clothes. Melshi is in standard Alliance gear, still in his chair. “Time to go, you two?” It’s Chirrut who speaks.

Jyn and Cassian can both tell that, while still weak, he is far more himself. Cassian answers him. “Yes. We need to load up, and I need to go clean out my quarters here. Baze, Bodhi, can you get this gear loaded and help Chirrut to Rogue One?”

“Yes.” Bodhi stands, and while still a little nervous looking, Jyn is amazed that he does seem a little more settled.

Baze also responds. “We’ve got this.”

“Thank you.” He motions to Melshi. “Can you join us outside, Melshi?”

The three of them step into the hallway. Cassian looks at his old colleague. “Melshi, were you told of your promotion?” At Melshi’s nod, Cassian continues, “Dodonna and Cracken are on board. You’ll report to me, me to Cracken, but Dodonna will lean on you now and then, too. I take it you agreed to that?”

“I did. Thank you, Cassian. You know I appreciate this.” Melshi looks at Jyn. “Captain.”

She smirks. “Captain. Congratulations, Melshi.”

He grins back, and Cassian is happy to see that look on Melshi’s face. “All right, I’d love to have time to do planning, but the evacuation is already starting.”

“We’ll connect, Major. General Dodonna is getting me a comms set up. We can talk soon.” He motions to the door. “Go, Major. You and Erso need to get your stuff and go.”

“Andor, you nerfherder.” Jyn scowls a little, and he laughs, holding up his hands. She rolls her eyes and takes Cassian’s hand, pulling him towards the entrance to medical, tossing, “Kriff off, Captain,” over her shoulder.

It takes them all of fifteen minutes to pack up Cassian’s quarters. Jyn isn’t surprised that most of his things fit in a single large trunk, the rest going in a pack. He grabs some data tapes and slips them in the pack. From the look on his face, Jyn can tell they’re Kay’s. Her eyes stray to the corner, and she’s surprised by the wave of sadness she feels at the sight of an empty charging station there. She goes to Cassian and wraps her arms around him. “I’m so sorry, Cass.”

He puts down the pack he was loading and turns into her, his head dropping to her shoulder. “I miss him.”

She gently combs a hand through his hair. “I know.”

They stand there like that for a moment before he lifts his head slightly, kissing her and clinging to her for few seconds before pulling back. “Thank you, bella.”

“Anytime, Major. I think seeking comfort is part of the whole ‘I married my former Partisan, Imperial Fugitive, Mercenary, Cranky Slicer Woman package.” She shrugs.

He can’t help but chuckle at that. “I love you, Jyn.”

“I love you, too, Cass.” She takes the pack and shoulders into it. He tries to protest, but she just rolls her eyes. “Cracked ribs. Helping me with the trunk will be enough for you.”

He reluctantly agrees. After one last look around the small space, he helps her lift the trunk, and together, they get it to the ship. When they get there, they’re met by Kes, Shara, and, to their surprise, Leia, Luke, and the other man and the wookiee who arrived with Leia.

Baze lumbers out and takes the trunk and pack, nodding to the others before taking it onto the ship. Kes steps forward and hugs Jyn and then Cassian, Shara doing the same. She’s the one to speak, Jyn amused to see that Kes is the more emotional of the two. “You two keep in touch, all right?

“Melshi will know how to find us, and I’ll make sure Dodonna and Cracken know that you two are to be informed if anything happens to us and that you two are the only ones outside of leadership with permission to know where we are, to contact us.” Cassian has to pause and swallow hard. “You two were my only real friends outside of Kay.”

After one more hug from both, Kes and Shara leave, Jyn oddly warmed by the idea of having an actual female friend. Leia steps forward. She looks beautiful now, her hair piled high on her head, dress clean and pristinely white. “Andor, well, Andors, please stay in touch. I hope I’m on that list of permissible contacts.”

Cassian smirks. “Eh. I don’t know if I can trust a princess.” Luke and the other man tense behind Leia, and Jyn’s hand drifts to her truncheon.

“Well, and who in karking hells can trust a damned spy?” She steps close to Cassian, and he hugs her. 

Jyn chuckles when Luke’s and the other man’s eyes widen, the wookiee warbling something. Jyn knows she shocks them all, when she addresses the wookiee. “They’ve known each other since she was eleven. Stand down.”

“Who’s going to make us, sweetheart? You?” The older man mocks her.

Cassian watches, and he murmurs to Leia, “That was a mistake.”

Jyn has her truncheon out and right under the man’s chin in seconds. “Try me.”

Luke starts to move to protect the other man, but the wookiee actually laughs. Cassian holds up a hand to Luke. “Don’t touch my wife. You might have blown up the Death Star, but she’s the one who stole the plans so you could. Your friend there needs to learn to not make assumptions.”

Luke steps back, hands raised. “You stole the plans?”

Jyn moves away from the man, efficiently collapsing her truncheon as she does. “Not alone. Cassian and the rest of Rogue One did it too. And dozens died on Scarif.” She focuses on Luke. “Thank you.”

“Han.” The older man speaks up.

“Pardon?” Jyn eyes him.

“Han. That’s my name. Han Solo. And nice freighter. Mine’s Corellian, too.” He motions to the large rickety looking ship they’d arrived on. “The Millennium Falcon.” He then motions to the wookiee. “And that’s Chewie. Chewbacca.”

Jyn inclines her head to the wookiee, and he says something that makes Jyn laugh and Han furrow his brow. “Chewie, you’re supposed to be my friend!”

“I’m sure he mocks because he loves, Solo. Nice meeting you.” Jyn nods and heads for the ship. “Cass, we’ll get her warmed up. Princess, Luke, nice to meet you both.”

Leia rolls her eyes. “You have your hands full with that one, don’t you.”

Cassian leans on his cane and runs his free hand through his hair. “You have no idea.”

Luke points to the cane and brace. “What happened?”

Cassian shrugs. “Got shot off of the citadel tower on Scarif. Fell five floors, landed on a platform. Climbed up to the top to help Jyn. Leg and hip have some fractures that still need to heal.”

The kid blinks, and even Han winces and says, “Ouch.”

“You all should stay. We’re having a medal ceremony, Cassian.” Leia puts a hand on his arm.

He shakes his head. “We didn’t do it for medals, Leia. It was for Jyn, her father, and the Rebellion. Honestly, we want to fly under the sensors. No big ceremonies for us. We need to go, by the way. I assume you’ll evacuate after the ceremony?”

“Yes.” She hugs him again. “Stay safe, Cass. All of you.”

“We’ll do our best. You do the same. I’ll see you again soon, Princessa.” He squeezes her tight before stepping back.

She gives him a watery smile at the name he always used for her when she was a kid. “Soon, Cass.”

He moves onto the ship, and Jyn closes the ramp behind him. “You good?”

He smiles down at her. “I am.”

He heads to the cockpit, her following. He settles into the pilot’s seat. Bodhi is already there in the co-pilot’s. Jyn settles in a jumpseat behind them, and she calls back to Chirrut and Baze to settle in. Cassian looks at Bodhi. “Do the honors?”

Bodhi smiles, and he activates the comm. “This is Rogue One, requesting permission to take off.”

The voice comes back. “Rogue One, you are clear. May the Force be with you.”

Cassian lifts the ship off, and Jyn calls to him, “Where are we headed?”

He looks back. “Atrivis sector. Want to visit some old friends and get us some less obvious clothes. I have some for me, but I need to get the rest of you kitted out.”

They make the jump to lightspeed shortly after, and Cassian leans back. “We’ll be at lightspeed for at least a day.” 

Bodhi looks at him. “Take a break, Cassian. I’m good. Better than in a while.”

“Are you sure, Bodhi? I don’t mind.” Cassian studies him. Bodhi’s eyes are clear, and his tremors are gone. It’s just watching things while at lightspeed, so Cassian thinks it will be fine.

“I’m sure. You and Jyn get some rest. You’re the only ones who haven’t.” Bodhi tips his head back towards the cabins.

“All right. I’ll come relieve you in a few hours. Come and get me if you need me sooner.” He pushes himself up out of his seat and uses his cane to move to Jyn’s. In the corner of his eye, he sees Bodhi move into the pilot’s seat. “Shall we, Captain Andor?”

Jyn laughs softly and stands up, letting him take her hand. They move together towards the bunks. Baze is making tea in the kitchen, and Jyn asks, “How is he, Baze?”

“Stubborn, making stupid jokes. He’s fine.” Despite his gruff tone and words, Jyn can see his relief.

“Good. We’re going to get some rest.” She motions to the door to their bunk. “Wake us if you need us.”

Baze shakes his head. “We’ll be fine, little sister. Enjoy your quiet time, both of you.”

Jyn notices that Cassian has an arm around her now, rubbing slowly at her side. “We will.”

They go into the bunk, closing the door behind them, Jyn leaning back against it, facing him. Cassian drops his cane, leaning one hand on the door above her head. The one thing they haven’t really talked about or done is, in a word, consummate their marriage. On the trip here from Takodana, they were both getting used to just the idea of being married, and he was little too sore.

Then Alderaan happened, then they arrived at Yavin. At this point, though, fractures be damned, he wants her. She looks up at him, and he can see that she’s hesitant. He leans down and kisses her, and it becomes heated in moments. Her hands are buried in his hair, and he has one of his on her waist, the other still braced on the door.

They eventually break apart to breathe. He presses a line of kisses down her neck, and he’s relieved when she speaks, as it explains why she was hesitant. “Cass, I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

He shakes his head. “I won’t. We’ll figure it out.” He straightens slightly, his eyes suddenly clouded with concern. “Unless you’re not ready. Jyn, bella, if you aren’t, that’s all right with me.”

She shakes her head. “No, I’m ready, Cass. I would just hate myself if I hurt you.”

He pulls away, and he takes her hand in his, drawing her to him. They shuffle towards the bed, him leaning on her without his cane. When they get to it, he sits, and she stands between his legs. He looks up at her. “We’ll just have to take it slow, then.” 

She gives him an almost feral smile at that. “Sounds like a plan, Major.”


	5. Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew meets up with their new leaders and Cassian reunites with an old ally and friend. Oh, and Baze gets his groove back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Sorry for the slow posting (and I give you BIG chapters), but cute and fluffy times ahead to make up for it! And by the way, after this chapter, there will be action and then time skips (I’ll explain them at the start of each one). This setup is needed though, to weave back into canon (and yes, it will, but it will wander between AU and canon).
> 
> NOW EDITED TO CORRECT AN ERROR RE: TRAVIA CHAN.
> 
> Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.
> 
> AND…previously on “What Normal Looks Like”, our heroes have told Draven to kriff off, they pack up and leave, and Jyn and Cassian have a “fade to black” moment…

Some time later, Cassian is propped up on pillows in their bed (giving his still-sore ribs some relief), and Jyn is carefully draped over him, her body pressed to his. His restrictive brace is off, discarded on the floor next to the bed, but he’s amused to note that they’re both naked save her knee braces.

They have a blanket pulled up almost to her shoulders and to his mid-chest, and she’s lightly drawing patterns on his chest with her fingertips. She rubs her leg against his good side. “I know this probably isn’t appropriate to bring up right now, I’d never had sex before with someone I actually wanted to see again after.”

He snorts. “Me neither. This is pretty nice, though. Too bad I’ve always been too worried about being this vulnerable when someone, maybe even my partner, might try to kill me.”

She nods against his shoulder. “Kills the mood for cuddling, that.” After he chuckles a little, she adds softly, “I’m still having a little trouble believing this is real, Cass.”

He presses a kiss to the top of her head. “Which part?”

“All of it?” She leans away and looks up at him. “The Death Star gone, us still alive and kriffing married, you out from under Draven, us getting to carve our path now on our own, candidly, very decent ship. I’m sure I could come up with more, given that I didn’t even mention our new found family out there.” She gestures to the door. “Oh, and the really good sex. It’s all unreal.”

He snorts and nods. “Of course, you know that our new found family out there knows exactly what we’ve been doing in here.”

This time, she chuckles. She’s enjoying this moment way too much to be embarrassed. “Well, Bodhi may not know.”

They both go quiet again, but after a moment, Cassian turns serious. There’s something he needs to tell her, something that he hadn’t thought of until now. He’s not sure if it will make her upset or relieved. “Jyn?”

“Mmm?”

“There’s something we didn’t talk about, something we should have.” He feels her go tense under him, and he’s quick to add, “It’s not really bad, bella, but it’s something I should have thought to tell you.”

“All right.” She swallows hard, suddenly terrified.

He takes a moment, trying to think of a way to start this discussion. After a span of silence, he says, “Do you have an implant?”

She sits up a little, looking at him in the dim light from a small lamp by the bed, the only light in the room. She’s briefly confused, and then something dawns on her, making her more worried than before. She bites her lip. “No.”

“You don’t have a birth control implant?” He’s surprised. He’d been prepared to tell her she doesn’t need one.

She straightens up fully next to him, draping the extra blanket from the foot of their bed around her shoulders. She guesses that he knows she’s buying time, but she spends time arranging the blanket, conscious of his eyes on her. She sighs. “I don’t need one, Cass.”

He furrows his brow. This conversation may be easier than he anticipated. “What does that mean, Jyn?”

She burrows into the blanket a little. “I can’t get pregnant.” She blinks a few times. “Saw, he made us all get,” she pauses on the word, then whispers, “Sterilized.” She looks up at him. “I’m sorry, Cass, I should have told you.”

He shakes his head, more relieved than he can say. “Jyn, bella.” He sits up carefully, one hand on his ribs. She stares resolutely at the bed, and he reaches out and cups her cheek in his palm. “Jyn, I did the same. Sterilization. Voluntarily. A lot of spies did. We weren’t forced into it, but it was strongly encouraged. Can’t be a spy with a baby, you know?”

She looks up in surprise. “Really?”

He gives her a sheepish look and a nod. She visibly relaxes, and they both slide back down into the bed. He lets her fuss over him for a moment, making sure he’s comfortable, and then she reaches over and douses the light before settling next to him again. After a moment, she softly says, “We don’t know each other very well, do we? Especially not for married people.”

He combs his hand through her hair. “Maybe. Maybe not. You know a lot about me, at least compared to other people.” He’s silent for a moment. “I’m from Fest. It’s kriffing cold there. I had a younger brother. He died in the same explosion that killed my mother, an explosion set by Clone troopers to quell an uprising. My father had been dead for two years then. The tyranny of the old Republic started well before the Empire.”

Jyn shakes her head. “Cassian, you don’t have to do this.”

“I want to. I want you to know about me, and I want to know what your file didn’t tell me about you.” He waits for her to nod, and he goes on, “I was taken in by the Rebels, insurrectionists, by a woman named Travia Chan. She trained me to stand quietly and listen, to melt into crowds as only a small child can. She’s head of the Rebels in the Atrivis Sector now.”

“That’s why we’re heading there, isn’t it? To see her.” Jyn is surprised at his willingness to share this place, this person, with her and with the others.

“Yes and no.” He rests his chin on Jyn’s head. “She’s been after me for years to come back. I know she has things we can help with, and we can do them quietly. Our cover can be a lot of things, but the simplest is just muscle for hire for whatever jobs need doing and doing legit cargo jobs for money on the side.”

“Simple covers are the best. The only time I ever kriffed up was on one of my more complex legends. I’ll need a new alias, though. You probably won’t be surprised to know that most of mine have been made or made enemies at some point or another.” She feels him chuckle under her. “How often do you think we’ll get assignments from Cracken?”

“Not sure.” He pauses, letting lose a jaw-cracking yawn. “I don’t think they’ll be constant. Hopefully we can talk with him directly soon, even if just over long-distance comms.”

Jyn can tell he’s tired. She is too. “Where do you think he is right now?”

Cassian shrugs and tucks her closer to him. “I don’t know, but he works a lot in the Outer Rim. I know he is connected to Travia. It’s possible we could meet with him in person somewhere in or near the Atrivis Sector.”

Even as she feels sleep start to overtake her, Jyn softly asks, “Do you trust him? Cracken?”

“Yes.” Cassian speaks with certainty. He knows Cracken to be a good man and a good soldier. “He’s not like General Draven, bella.”

Instead of responding, Jyn just lets herself relax completely. Cassian can tell when she falls asleep, and he follows her moments later.

X X X X X X X X

Cassian is awakened hours later by the beep of a comm near their heads. It’s Bodhi, asking if they can relieve him. Jyn sits up, yawning and rubbing her eyes. Checking the time, she looks at Cassian. “We slept eight hours straight.”

He blinks in surprise and activates the comm to tell Bodhi they’ll be there shortly. He almost wishes he hadn’t when the blanket slips away from Jyn’s bare upper body. She must feel his eyes on her, because she smirks at him. “Not now, Major.”

He shrugs. “You can’t blame a man for admiring his wife, right?”

She leans in and kisses him. “Right.” She stands up, wrapping the extra blanket she’d used last night around herself. She goes and gets his cane for him, and she also passes him his clothes and brace before picking up her own. “I’ll be out in a moment. You all right on your own?”

He nods and watches as she disappears into the fresher attached to their cabin. He looks around the small space, and he finds himself unable to believe that this is theirs. He hasn’t had a real home in years. Shaking his head, he carefully gets his clothes on. As he finishes dressing, Jyn comes out fully dressed herself. She grabs her truncheon, and he gives her a funny look. She shrugs, looking a little sheepish. “I feel a bit naked without it.”

He understands completely. She holds her hand out to him, and with her help and leaning on the cane, he rises. He pulls her to him with his hand in hers. He leans down and kisses her. When he pulls back, he says, “I hope, one day in the future, that we’ll both feel comfortable unarmed, but I understand, bella. I’ll be wearing a blaster when I come to the cockpit.”

He squeezes her hand before releasing it, and she smiles up at him, asking, “See you in a few minutes? I’ll get food and caf and meet you up front? You can get your brace on by yourself?”

“Yes to all, and sounds good. Thank you, bella.” He laughs, slightly sadly. “Kay never brought me food.”

She smirks, reaching up and cupping his cheek. “I miss him far more than I’d have expected to, but I’m assuming there is already a growing list of things I’ll do for you that Kay didn’t.” She leers at him.

He laughs louder at that. “Good point.” He’s still deeply sad about K-2, but it actually feels good to laugh. He leans in and presses a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be up there in a little while.” He notices something. Her hair is in a braid this time, not the bun at the base of her neck. It’s softer somehow. “I like your hair like that.”

She smiles a little and nods. “It seemed like it was time for a change. We may need to color it soon, just to change my appearance a little. Hope you like blondes.” She pauses and winks at him as he laughs again. “See you up front.”

X X X X X X X X

Several hours later, Jyn and Cassian sit in the cockpit, Jyn closely watching the controls and readings that Cassian has spent the last few hours explaining to her. They’re due to drop out of lightspeed in the next hour, arriving in the Atrivis Sector. He’s been threatening to make her take them in wherever they land, but she finally disabused him of that notion. She’s fine with learning to pilot, but she’s not ready for that yet. Bodhi will join them soon, and Jyn will relinquish her chair.

Thankfully, they’re already figuring out each other’s clues and tells, and she could see the moment when he realized how uncomfortable she was with the idea of piloting on her own. She wants to pick up a small sim unit if they can find one, so she can practice without endangering anyone.

She looks over at Cassian. He’s relaxed and almost as at home in the pilot’s chair as Bodhi is. Almost as though he can read her mind, he says, “I always worked alone, you know? Except for K-2. He could pilot, but I was generally better in a pinch – he sometimes would calculate too long.”

Jyn nods. That actually makes sense to her, especially based on her experiences with K-2. Then she looks over at him and gives him a self-deprecating smile. “Guess we now know another way Kay and I were different. No one has ever accused me of calculating too long.” She knows that her brash ways of handling things can be problematic. She snorts. “It occurs to me that you probably don’t want to send me and Baze out together alone, at least not if you need us all sticking to a plan.”

Cassian shoots her a look that could only be described as fond. He realizes that she doesn’t get that he is learning the value in her spur of the moment style. In his old line of work, deep covers and long legends, he had to stay on his toes, but it was often highly choreographed. He certainly had to be able to adapt and improvise, but what Jyn does, her ability to tactically assess a situation and act quickly to not only complete a task but also to consider others, it’s something he wants to be better at – especially the latter part.

“I am learning,” he smirks slightly at her, “That plans can be a little overrated. And honestly, bella, with the kind of work we’ll likely be doing in the future, they won’t be quite as orchestrated as what I used to do.”

Her face falls a little, and he can see that she’s worried about something. That’s confirmed when she says, “I just don’t want to be a liability for you, Cass. Even when you were coming out of sedation back on Takodana, your brain called my cover name – you know how good you are at this, right? I can’t do that.”

He blinks. “Jyn, that’s nonsense.” He can see that she’s starting to argue, and he shakes his head. “Jyn, your file showed at least half a dozen aliases. When we were going to Maz’s, you knew right away which one you’d used on Takodana. How many worlds have you been to?”

It’s her turn to blink. “I’ve lost count.”

“And do you know the name you used on each one?” He pins her with a look. After a moment, she nods. He goes on, “Bella, you manage more in your head than most could even begin to remember, even me. I trained for years to be able to do what I think you do naturally. Weren’t both of your parents scientists?”

“Yes.” She’s confused. “Why does that matter?”

“Given the opportunity, if there hadn’t been a Krennic, hadn’t been an Empire, I’d guess that there are few limits to what you might’ve done.” He’s amazed that she can’t see her own intelligence. She scoffs, but he isn’t having it. He reaches over and takes her hand. “Jyn, I’m serious. You can slice, you can make tactical plans, you can see an opponent’s weak spots in seconds. You even kept up with Kay, insult for insult. Do not underestimate yourself.”

She looks down, staring at their joined hands. No one has ever believed in her, and she’s suddenly surrounded by people who do, because she can sense that Bodhi, Baze, and Chirrut do, too. It’s overwhelming and more than a little terrifying to her. She looks up at Cassian, and she can see his conviction burning in his eyes. They’re eyes that were hard at first, that she’d thought were cold. Now, while they still burn, they are soft at the same time.

She realizes that the coldness, the hardness, those were veneers, things he used to protect his true self – it strikes her that this team gets to actually see him in a way she wonders how many ever have. Maybe Leia, maybe glimpses to Kes and Shara; but with her and the others on this ship, the veneer is gone. “I love you, Cassian Andor.”

He cocks his head at her, briefly confused. Then, he just softens even more and shakes his head. “I love you too, Jyn Andor.”

X X X X X X X X

An hour later, Jyn is in the seat behind Cassian, and Bodhi is in the pilot’s seat. Cassian gave him the helm when Bodhi returned from sleeping. They’re going to drop out of lightspeed soon. Watching Bodhi, Jyn realizes something. “Bo, you don’t have any tremors anymore.”

He blinks and looks at her. Then, he nods, smiling hesitantly. “I know. I feel much closer to normal. I can still feel some of the anxiety, and when I was tired earlier, it was starting to come back, but now that I’m rested, my head feels,” he seems to search for the word before finishing, “Quieter.”

He glances at Cassian, and Cassian says, “We’ll make sure we all are able to get adequate rest from here on out. This ship with this crew is probably one of the safest places I’ve been in years. We’ll work out a rotation. None of us is at our best without sleep, Bodhi.”

Jyn feels a surge of warmth for Cassian, and Bodhi ducks his head a little. He focuses on the controls, but he says, “Chirrut offered to help me practice meditating. He thinks it will help me focus better, keep my mind quiet.”

Baze lumbers into the cockpit at that moment, settling in the chair next to Jyn. “Good. Maybe he’ll stop trying to get me to meditate with him if you start, pilot.”

Jyn snorts at that, and she hears both Cassian and Bodhi laugh quietly. She looks at Baze. “How is he, Baze?”

Baze’s usual grumpy expression fades. “Tired and sore, but he won’t admit it. He didn’t fight me on staying in our bunk, though.” He laughs in his brusque way. “He was meditating. We just need to comm him when we’re going to land so he can hang on to something.”

At that moment, Bodhi speaks up, and Jyn sees him tap his comm to let Chirrut hear. “We’re about to drop out of lightspeed.”

Cassian fights the urge to grab controls, knowing Bodhi is just fine. He focuses on the viewport, ready to get on communications when they drop. A few moments later, they feel a soft jolt, something he’d begrudgingly admit was a lot smoother than in his old ship, and the stars in front of them return to normal-looking space.

Surprisingly, the comms beep with a message right away. Cassian looks at the screen, and then he grins. “Bodhi, I’m going to program in some coordinates. Head there. We’ll need to make a short jump.”

“Fedje?” Bodhi lifts an eyebrow after looking at his screen. “I’ve not heard of it.”

Cassian calls back to Chirrut that they’re jumping again, but that it’ll only be about fifteen minutes. Once he confirms back, Bodhi takes them back to lightspeed. Cassian explains, “Fedje is a forested planet, and it sounds like the Atrivis forces are hiding out there right now. They want to get a base on or near Generis, last I heard. We’re going to their current base in a densely forested area. The message says we’ll be able to land, and that mineral deposits mask ship signatures.”

“Rebel forces?” Baze grunts the question.

Cassian nods. “Led by Travia Chan. She was the person who recruited me into the fight.”

“At six?” Baze sounds disapproving.

Jyn wants to jump in, but she reins in the impulse. Cassian sighs and looks back at Baze. “I was an orphan, Baze. She took me in and trained me to listen and disappear into a crowd. I didn’t learn to fight other than evasion and self-defense until I was older.”

He holds the gaze of the older man until he nods. “Then I will probably like her.” He stands. “I’ll go let Chirrut know we’re landing soon. I assume we’ll meet this Travia Chan?”

Cassian shrugs lightly. “Possibly. The message was actually from General Cracken’s team, but Travia wouldn’t allow it if she didn’t want to.”

“Then I’ll definitely like her.” Baze leaves, and Jyn and Cassian exchange a wry glance.

After they jump again, they follow the coordinates down into the atmosphere. Jyn peers through the viewport, and it’s blue as far as she can see. “Lots of water,” she notes.

Cassian nods. “The message said we’re heading to the colder region of the planet. Less land there, and almost no colonization. The population is settled mostly in the temperate zone.”

“Works for me.” Jyn settles back in her chair.

Looking at Bodhi, Cassian asks, “Instructions say to get low. You all right skimming?”

Bodhi swallows hard. “Can you take it? Not much call for that as an Imperial cargo hauler.”

Cassian sits up, taking the secondary controls. “Yes. And I can teach you. Both of you.” He glances back at Jyn.

As they get closer to the water, Cassian taps his comm, telling Chirrut and Baze to strap in, explaining how they’ll be coming in. After they agree, he tightens his hands on the controls, and he notices Bodhi’s eyes widening as they come in, pulling up so that they’re not much more than ten meters above the waves. It’s a blustery day, so Cassian has to focus on controlling them, making sure not to nose into the water.

Jyn sees Bodhi watching Cassian closely, and as the wind picks up, she can also see that Cassian is wincing slightly every time they have to reposition, the movement likely straining his ribs. Jyn exchanges a look with Bodhi, and after a moment, Bodhi says, “Cassian, can I try? I think I see what you’re doing.”

After a moment, Cassian nods slightly. “Yes, go ahead.” Bodhi leans forward, retaking control, and Cassian eyes him before saying, “Thank you.”

The ship continues to move above the waves, even picking up a little speed, and Jyn can see Bodhi relaxing into his task. He had looked nervous before, but it’s almost like flipping a switch when he sees something is needed. Jyn is impressed, and it makes her alter her perception of her new friend a little.

Several minutes later, they clear land, and Cassian looks ahead and points. “There.”

Bodhi looks where Cassian is pointing, and he nods. “Got it.”

Jyn leans around, and as the comms crackle to life, she sees a guard tower looming out of the trees. “Incoming ship, please identify.”

Cassian takes the comm. “Rogue One on approach.”

There’s silence for a moment. Then, the voice comes back. “You’re clear, Rogue One. Green pad, right side from your position.”

“Copy that.” Cassian replies.

They clear some trees, and a moment later, Bodhi says, “Got it.”

Jyn is surprised that no fighters rise to escort them in. Then, she spots some substantial ground weapons, anti-aircraft cannons, pointed directly at them. As they settle on the designated pad, Jyn rises from her seat. She helps Cassian do the same, steadying him as Bodhi shuts the ship down. They head into the back of the ship, where they are met by Chirrut and Baze. Chirrut is on his feet, and he looks far better after resting most of the way here. He leans heavily on a staff, but he no longer requires any other support.

Baze is wearing a small blaster, similar to the one Cassian wears. She looks at Cassian. This is more his territory. “Armed or unarmed?”

Cassian looks at her. “Armed. Travia would honestly be suspicious if we emerged unarmed.”

Jyn nods, ducking into their room and grabbing her blaster and holster. She emerges, strapping it to her leg. Bodhi looks at her. “I don’t have one.”

“Do you want one?” Jyn cocks her head at him. “You don’t have to.”

Bodhi shakes his head. “Not really.”

Cassian reaches out and squeezes Bodhi’s arm. “Then Jyn is right. You don’t have to. But are you able to shoot at all?”

With a shrug, Bodhi replies, “We had required rudimentary weapons training. I can pick one up if and when I need to.”

“All right.” Cassian looks at Baze. “When we have time and open space, can you work with Bodhi on the weapons we have and make sure he can use them all and shoot with at least slightly more accuracy than the bucketheads?” He looks back at Bodhi. “Your vision is good. You should be able to master decent aim pretty quickly.”

“Agreed, and yes, I will, Major.” Baze nods.

Cassian looks around the group. “Everyone ready?” With their nods, Jyn activates the control, opening the ramp. Cassian says, “Let’s go, me and Jyn first, Bodhi, stick close to Chirrut and Baze.”

He doesn’t wait for their replies. He just looks at Jyn, and they head down the ramp side by side, postures relaxed. As they do, Jyn sees a group approaching, led by an older woman with steel grey short hair and a determined expression, seated in a quick-moving repulsorchair. She looks up at Cassian, and she’s shocked to see a smile blooming on his face.

He quickens his pace as much as he can, leaning on his cane. The group approaching them stops at a word from the woman leading them, but she keeps coming. Moments later, the woman has her arms wrapped around Cassian as well as she can, and he hugs her back with his free arm. Jyn notices that the others hold back behind her, but she approaches Cassian’s side.

As she gets there, she hears Cassian say, “It was close, Travia. But it was worth it this time.”

In response, the woman says, her voice rough and scratchy, “I’m glad you’re all right, my boy, glad that piece of kriffing bantha fodder Draven didn’t finally manage to kill you this time.”

Jyn huffs out a breath at that. Cassian and the woman part, and Cassian lifts an eyebrow at her. “What? I’m glad too, and I’m glad to know there are still more people who agree that Draven is a piece of kriffing bantha fodder.”

Travia looks her up and down, and she eyes the weapon at Jyn’s waist. “Truncheon?”

Jyn nods, unclipping it and immediately deploying it. Just as a display of trust, she flips it and hands it to Travia, handle first. “A wedding gift from a friend.”

Travia takes the weapon, but her eyes widen a moment later, something clearly occurring to her. She looks at Cassian as she hands it back to Jyn, who closes it and clips it back to her belt. “Wedding gift?”

He shrugs, wincing at the pull to his ribs. Jyn notices and steps close to him, bolstering his side to take the pressure off of his ribs. “Do you need to sit?”

He shakes is head, not surprised that she was paying attention. “It’s all right. Thank you, bella. I just need to stop shrugging.” He looks at Travia. “Travia Chan, this is Jyn Andor. My wife. Jyn, this is Travia Chan, leader of the Atrivis Sector forces.”

Travia blinks in shock. “Nice to meet you.” She looks up at Cassian. “I have never seen you allow anyone to help you like that. Not even when you were tiny.”

Jyn feels him start to move, and she scolds. “Kriffing hells, stop shrugging, you nerfherder. I’ll let you keel over next time.”

Cassian rolls his eyes, but Travia cackles. “Oh, I like her.” She motions to them. “Come on and bring your,” she pauses, peering around them, “Crew. Where is the murderbot?”

Cassian’s face falls, and it breaks Jyn’s heart a little. She wraps an arm around Cassian’s waist, and she quietly replies, “K-2 didn’t survive Scarif.”

Travia furrows her brow, and she reaches a hand up, wrapping it around Cassian’s wrist. “My boy, I am so sorry. I teased him and you about him, but I know what he was to you. I know he was the only one you really trusted.”

His voice is barely a whisper when he replies, “Thank you, Travia.” He swallows hard and clears his throat. “He was all I had for a long time. But I’ve found some new friends, and I’ll be all right. I’ll always miss him, but things have changed otherwise for the better, as I’m sure General Cracken told you.”

She drops her hand, a soft look in her eyes. “He did, and I’m proud of you for finally getting out from under Draven. Come on then.”

Jyn looks back and motions to Bodhi and Baze. They move forward after Baze leans down and says something to Chirrut, who nods and allows Baze to actually lead him. They follow Travia into a large tent, and Jyn feels Cassian take a stuttering step. There are only two people in the tent, one younger, clearly an aide of some sort, and a middle-aged man with graying hair and light eyes, the latter seated at a large makeshift table.

“General Cracken.” Cassian straightens as much as he can, coming to attention.

Jyn peers at the man, tensing, waiting for him to speak, or maybe to yell the way Draven likes to. Instead, he stands and smiles, approaching them. “At ease, Major. We don’t stand on ceremony out here on the rim, and you know that.” He looks at Jyn. “Davits hates you.”

She lifts an eyebrow, rather liking this man on sight. “Well, that feeling is quite mutual.” She then describes him with a Huttese curse that makes Cassian sigh and shake his head, but Cracken laughs out loud.

“Good.” His face turns serious. “I’m sorry about your father, Captain Andor. His death was not what I wanted. We wanted to bring him in. It’s on me that I didn’t make sure General Draven didn’t change the mission parameters.”

She’s surprised. “I won’t say that it’s all right, General, but I do appreciate the apology.”

He nods. “Sit, all of you.”

The others come to the table, most of them settling in chairs, Jyn between Cassian and Bodhi, and Travia simply pulling up to it. The aide steps out, leaving it just the seven of them. Cassian speaks first. “Clearly you’ve been briefed, General.” Cracken nods, and Cassian goes on. “This is my new team. Jyn is my second in command, Captain Bodhi Rook,” he indicates Bodhi, “Is our pilot.”

Chirrut speaks up then. “And I am Chirrut Imwe, and this is Baze Malbus, both of Jedha, both Guardians of the Whills. We are,” he cocks his head, “What are we, Major?”

Cassian laughs. “Civilian contractors.” Then he looks at Cracken. “And the five of us are co-equal owners of Rogue One via a private trust Maz set up for us.”

Cracken examines him closely, and Cassian doesn’t look away. Everything in him is wanting to grant deference to the leaders, but he recognizes that he’s in a new place now, that he is a leader too, and he has to think about more than just allegiance to the Rebellion.

Jyn frowns, and she finds Cassian’s hand under the table. She can tell that he’s a little at war with himself. She’s also surprised at Cassian’s comment that she’s his second in command. She looks at Cracken. “All I want to know, General, is if you’re going to give us some independence. We are loyal to the cause. Scarif should have proved that. The other thing you probably know about us from Scarif is that if we think an order is kriffing stupid, we’ll ignore it.”

At that, Bodhi, Baze, and Chirrut laugh, and Cassian relaxes slightly, looking down at Jyn with an expression somewhere between affection and irritation. “Jyn.”

She shrugs. “What? Is that not accurate?”

He rolls his eyes. “That’s not the point, bella.”

“And just what is the point?” He furrows his brow at her. Then she looks at Cracken again. Next to him, Travia is actually laughing, and Cracken is quiet but clearly amused. “You’ll find, General, that he’ll listen. I’ll be the difficult one.”

Baze grunts. “Me too.”

Cracken looks at Bodhi. “And you Captain Rook?”

“I’m the pilot.” Bodhi spits the words out automatically, his eyes huge in his face.

Chirrut puts a gentle hand on Bodhi’s arm. “And I’m the philosophical one.”

Jyn snorts. “Who, with nothing but a staff, can take down a dozen bucketheads without breaking a sweat.”

Cracken shakes his head and refocuses on Cassian. “Major, this is a unique crew you’ve built.” He pauses. “I admit that I wasn’t pleased at first, but then I spoke with Senator Mothma, Princess Organa, and General Dodonna. They all sang your praises, and after reading all of the reports, I agree. We would be done if the Death Star still existed. I’ve also read assessments of your team submitted by Sergeants Melshi and Dameron and one of the medics, Aari Eriston, and I’m impressed. Melshi in particular is incredibly loyal.”

“Yes sir.” Cassian nods. “He is valuable, and he’s as much a part of my crew as those of us here.”

“Good. That’s how you should feel. He’ll be a big asset to you as a liaison.” He pushes a tablet towards them on the table. Cassian takes it, and Jyn leans in, looking at it. “As Captain Andor said, you’ll have some independence. There may be times now and then when we call you in on orders to assist. Big battles, big missions. But for the most part, you’re going to be reconnaissance, recruiting, and building contacts.”

Cassian examines the tablet in front of them. It has a list of jobs, all seemingly straightforward but with files under each one of legends and contacts. It’s very different from how he worked before; certain jobs are designated as being time-sensitive, but a lot of them aren’t. “Eyes and ears?”

“Yes.” Cracken nods. “That doesn’t mean no risk.” He looks at Chirrut and Baze. “Guardians. These jobs require a decent-sized crew. Given your status, your lack of commitment to the Alliance, how do we know you won’t leave the team hanging?”

Baze bristles, but Chirrut places a calming hand on his arm. “General, we have no use for the Empire and thanks to them, no Temple to defend. Our path lies here. The Force guides us this way. We lost our home, but this is where we belong. Our loyalty is to defeating the Sith and the Empire, and to protecting our family.”

Seemingly satisfied, Cracken turns to Bodhi, making Jyn tense. “And you, Captain Rook? Where do your loyalties lie?”

Bodhi shrinks a little, but then he blinks and says, “With my crew. The Empire destroyed my home, but these people saved me. Th-they didn’t have to.”

“Do I make you nervous, son?” Cracken narrows his eyes.

“Yes.” Bodhi shuffles a little in his seat. “But almost everyone makes me n-nervous.”

“Why is that, Captain?” Travia speaks for the first time in a while, leaning forward in her seat, her expression serious but not angry or challenging.

Bodhi looks down at his hands, wringing them in his lap. Jyn reaches over and covers them with one of hers. “Can I explain, Bo?” He gives a stuttering nod, and she squeezes his hands before looking back at Cracken and Travia. “Sir, ma’am, Captain Rook, Bodhi, was recruited by my father to defect and take a message to Saw Gerrera, as I am certain your reports have told you. Bodhi was captured and tortured by Saw Gerrera.”

“How were you tortured?” Travia’s brows rise.

Jyn squeezes Bodhi’s hands again and answers for him. “Are either of you familiar with the Mairan?” At the shocked expressions from Cracken and Travia, she assumes they are. “That’s what Saw did. He turned one, Bor Gullet, loose on Bodhi to confirm that Bodhi was telling the truth. We have anti-anxiety medications for him that help, but he managed to get us off of Eadu, onto Scarif, and back off of Scarif without them. And getting off of Scarif was done having severe burns on his side, arm, and face after he was nearly blown to bits by a grenade. Bodhi is trustworthy, and I’m fairly certain any one of us would tear apart anyone who says different.”

“Karking hells.” It’s Travia who speaks again. “Do you have enough medical supplies? We can make sure you get what you need.”

Cassian speaks this time. “We’re well stocked for now. Both Maz and Aari made sure of that. But we’ll keep that in mind. If you have a small flight sim program we could have, we wouldn’t say no to that. Jyn is learning to fly in order to back up Bodhi and me. We also need clothes, or at least the others do. I have what I need to blend in.”

Cracken nods. “Done. The others can go to the quartermaster. My aide outside can take them. I’d like to go over the jobs with you and Jyn, if that’s all right.”

He looks back at the list of jobs, and his eyes land on one that makes his stomach churn. “Bodhi, Baze, Chirrut, please go with the general’s aide to get kitted out. Jyn will come soon as well.”

General Cracken nods and comms his aide. Then, as the others rise, he says, “Captain Rook?” Bodhi looks up again. “Welcome to the Alliance. We are honored to have you join us.”

Bodhi nods, a small smile quirking at his lips. Cassian looks back at the tablet, and Jyn looks over at him. She frowns at the seriousness in Cassian’s face, and she watches as Travia shoots a knowing look at Cracken. The others leave, and as the flap to the tent drops, Travia says, “Fest.”

“I can’t, Travia. You know I can’t.” Cassian shakes his head.

“You haven’t been back, and you need to. You need to kill the demons, my boy. I think you’ll find they don’t loom as large as you remember.” Travia is firm but kind. “We need intel there. We need to know what is happening, and we haven’t had a source there in over a year. No one else here but me speaks Festian.”

“Travia told me about your history, Major, and I will not order this. It’s a request. I have enough respect for you that I will not force it.” Cracken sighs. “But Major, we need it. I will not lie to you.”

Cassian drags a hand through his hair, expelling a breath. He looks at Jyn, and she nods slightly. “Cass, we have your back no matter what. If you want to go, we’ll be right there with you.”

He swallows hard, nodding back. “All right.” He looks up at Cracken. “And I appreciate the leeway, General. It won’t be first, though. And with regards to the list, I see some marked as time-sensitive. Is there a window?”

Travia takes over. “Each is marked with a timeframe, and there is a grid of them at the end showing an overview. We didn’t have to do much prep work here – this is a list that has been growing for a while, but it was things we couldn’t address with our current personnel. It’s almost exclusively out here in the Outer Rim, some in this sector, some in others. That little ship you have looks pretty perfect for this.”

“So, finally officially part of the Alliance, Travia?” Cassian lifts an eyebrow at her.

She chuckles. “Not yet. We’re working on it. We are working on a station that will be near Generis. But we’re working very much together. Given your independence, you’ll be able to be a link for us.”

Jyn interjects, “And no issues with us picking up small jobs on the side? Cargo and the like?”

“No.” Cracken shakes his head. “In fact, those small jobs can help finance you and help build your cover even more strongly. The two of you and Captain Rook will receive regular pay, though. The Guardians, probably not.”

Cassian and Jyn exchange a glance, and Cassian responds, “They’re Guardians, sir. They don’t want or need much. We’re giving them a family and a home, such as it is. But whatever Jyn and I are paid will be divided. We’ll pay the Guardians.”

“All right.” Cracken nods. “By the way, Captain, Dodonna has someone trying to break the encryption on the Stardust file on the tablet you left with them. They’ve already mined some data from it. He asked me to thank you.”

“Of course.” Jyn stands and looks down at Cassian. “I’ll go join the others at the quartermaster. Meet you back at Rogue One?”

“Yes.” He takes her hand and kisses the back of it. “I’ll be there shortly.”

He watches her leave, and then he turns back to Travia and the general. Travia says, “That makes me happy to see, you know? You’ve been on your own far too long, my boy.”

“Will it be a problem, Major? Can you be objective?” Cracken eyes him.

Cassian tenses, and he frowns at Cracken. “Absolutely not.” He glances at Travia, and she gives him an encouraging nod. Looking back at Cracken, he says, “No. I cannot be objective. Not about Jyn, not about Bodhi, and not about Chirrut and Baze. Not even about Melshi, or Aari, or Kes and Shara. Certainly not about Leia. And I’ve discovered something.”

“What’s that, Major?” Cracken looks irritated but intrigued.

“I’ve discovered that I now actually understand what I’m fighting for. Before, it was avenging memories, it was for a nebulous cause of freedom. Now? Now I’m fighting for them. I’m even fighting for myself, something I never even considered before. I’m fighting to actually have a future.” Cassian pushes himself to his feet. “I can retire right now if that doesn’t work for you, General. I’m fairly sure that Travia is fine with all of that and would be happy to have us work for her exclusively.”

Travia laughs. “That is true.”

Cracken shakes his head. “I’m impressed, Andor.” He stands, too, holding out his hand to Cassian.

Cassian takes it, shaking it. “By what, sir?”

“That anyone who was as dedicated as you were could get beyond that life. And I mean that sincerely.” He steps back. “I’ve never seen any of the spies like you get out of it.”

“Sir, you know that I am just as dedicated as I was. But I couldn’t keep it up.” He gives Cracken a hard look. “And you’ve probably never seen it because most spies don’t last through over twenty deep missions because they’ve either been killed or taken the lullaby pill. I don’t know why I’ve been lucky enough to stay alive, but I still have a lot to atone for. You know what sort of things we have to do as spies. Scarif was just a start of my penance.”

Travia moves to them and shakes her head. “Bantha fodder.” At Cassian’s surprised face, she says, “You don’t owe anyone anything, Cassian. This fight has done nothing but take from you, starting with your family and your childhood, right down to your droid. I know how long you’ve been at this. Twenty years, my boy – and in those twenty years, you’ve never faltered in your dedication to the cause, not since you were six years old. You aren’t faltering now. You’ve earned this.”

Cassian ducks his head, and then he looks up. He’s surprised to see understanding and a little bit of shame on Cracken’s face. The older man says, “Travia is right. And I apologize, Major, because you are too. We’ve never had a spy survive as many missions as you, and it’s time for us to let you take on a different role. Your record at recruiting is even better than your record as a spy. As makeshift as it is – no military leader would ever assemble it – your team is ideal for that task. I’m guessing that Mr. Imwe is rather gifted at reading people, isn’t he?”

“He is, General, and people tend to overlook and underestimate a blind man.” Cassian smirks, remembering Jedha.

“Was Jyn telling the truth? Did he take out over a dozen stormtroopers with nothing but a staff?” Travia looks skeptical.

Cassian’s smirk turns into a grin. “Saw it with my own eyes. Then, when another dozen came in, Baze surgically took them out with a repeater cannon. And I do mean surgically. He shot that thing around me, Jyn, K-2, and Chirrut, hitting only the stormtroopers. The Guardians are forces to be reckoned with, though Baze is upset that he lost that cannon on Scarif.”

Cassian notices a thoughtful look on Travia’s face as Cracken replies, “All right, Major. Your ship has been fueled up, and I’ll have the sim unit dropped off. The tablet also has a check-in schedule and protocols for running up different kind of alerts, including a distress code and how to signal if you’ll miss a check. But you will mostly be on your own outside of the check-ins.”

“That’s how most of my career has been, General.” He nods, and then he looks at Travia. “It’s been good to see you. We’ll stay planetside until we can go through the list of assignments and put our plan together – it may be several hours. Is that all right?”

“Of course.” She leans up to hug him gently, him carefully leaning down to her. “You get healed up before you put yourself in harm’s way, Cassian.”

“I’ll do my best, but no promises.” He shoots her a sheepish smile. She’s the only person left who makes him feel like a child again, and it’s in an oddly good way.

She moves back, and her usually steely persona drops back into place. He wishes Jyn had seen it happen – then she’d know where he learned it. “Do some damage, Major.”

“As much as we can, Travia.” He looks at Cracken. “General. May the Force be with you.”

“You too, Major,” Cracken replies, “Be careful.”

“Yes, sir.” With a wave, Cassian exits the tent and heads back to the ship. When he gets to a cross pathway, he actually runs into Jyn and the others, all with bags over their shoulders, and Jyn sporting a new leather vest and jacket, both butter soft, and new boots. Her eyes are shining, and he wonders if she’s had anything new since she was a child. He nods in the direction of the ship.

They all move forward, Jyn falling into step beside him. She grins. “The only benefit to you being injured is that I don’t have to nearly run to keep up with those damnably long legs of yours.”

He chuckles. “You can tell me to slow down when you need me to, you know.”

“Now, yes, and I will sometimes. Then, no kriffing way would I have shown that kind of weakness.” She shrugs.

He doesn’t respond because he gets it, and he knows she knows that. They get to the ship, all of them going to their respective rooms to drop off their new gear. Cassian stops in the common area, sinking onto a bench, his ribs and hip aching from the walking and the activity. As he sits there, he hears a noise outside the ship. He tenses when someone bangs on the outside and calls, “Permission to come aboard?”

Cassian sighs and stands, and he’s not surprised when Jyn materializes at his side. He calls, “Come aboard,” and he sees some soldiers come up the ramp.

One of them has a small box and a bag over one shoulder, and the other two are carrying a large chest between them. The soldiers put the boxes down, and two of them leave. The third stays, and after a moment, he says, “Thank you sir, ma’am.”

Jyn looks at Cassian and then says, “For what,” she eyes his rank insignia, “Sergeant?”

The man nods. “For getting the plans. For making sure that thing is gone. I’m from Alderaan.”

Jyn’s heart sinks at that, and Cassian puts a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Sergeant. Sorry it didn’t happen fast enough to save your home.”

The sergeant swallows hard. “I appreciate that. But what you all did gave us all new hope.” He shakes his head and motions to the boxes. “The small box is a holo-sim for flight training, and the large trunk is, I was told, wedding gifts for you two and a thank you gift for one of your crew. The bag is fresh food from the planet here. It’s all good, especially the melons.” He nods to them and leaves.

Curious and aware that Jyn needs a moment, Cassian squeezes her shoulder and goes over to the trunk. He unlatches it and flips it open. There’s a note attached to the lid, and he opens it. He looks back at Jyn. “The trunk is from Travia. She says she knows we’re stocked, but a little extra won’t hurt.”

Jyn joins him, and she throws back a heavy blanket that covers the contents of the trunk. She exchanges a grin with Cassian and then calls, “Baze!”

Baze comes out of his and Chirrut’s cabin. “Do you need me, Little Sister?”

She smiles at the endearment, and she motions to the trunk. The man comes over, curious at first, then shocked. Nestled in the trunk among some medical supplies, grenades, and other small weapons is a large repeater cannon, one not terribly dissimilar to the one he lost on Scarif. Jyn bumps him with her hip. “Go ahead.”

With a care that Jyn usually only sees him use with Chirrut, Baze lifts the huge weapon, settling it over his shoulder. A grin blooms on his face. “Major, I really like your Travia Chan.”

Cassian grins back as the others join them. “I like her too, and she must also like you, Baze.”

Chirrut bangs his staff on the floor. “I owe her thanks. Baze’s aura just lightened more than it has in years. May the Force be with them here.”

Baze rolls his eyes and grumbles, but Jyn and Cassian exchange a knowing look. They can see right through Baze’s gruff exterior. Cassian looks at them all. “All right, let’s stow these things and then meet back here. I have our list of assignments. We need to make a plan for how we approach them and the order we take them in.”

“Even me?” Bodhi looks surprised.

“Of course,” Jyn replies, “Why not you?”

He shrugs. “In the Empire, I was lowly. They just told me where to go.”

Cassian shakes his head. “Well, that’s not how we’re going to work, Bodhi. Your input on flight times and routes is critical.” He looks around the group. “We all will play a part here, we all have unique experience that will make us stronger.” He limps over to Bodhi and puts a hand on his shoulder. “None of us are lowly. You may be the pilot, Bodhi, but you’re not just the pilot.”

Bodhi nods, and Jyn sees it when he stands up a little straighter. “Thank you.”

Cassian steps back. “Everyone take thirty minutes to get things stowed. We’ll go through the weapons from Travia later. Baze, you can store that in your room if you prefer, or it can go in the weapons locker. Up to you.”

They all disperse, and Jyn looks up at him. Then she moves towards their cabin. “You coming?”

He follows. “What, you need help putting things away?”

As he gets inside, she closes the door behind him. “Cass, everything is stowed.”

“Then why,” his question is cut off when she puts her hands around his neck and pulls him down into a searing kiss.

“We can do a lot with thirty minutes, Major.”


	6. What is Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our heroes have their first real action, and then they head down a nostalgic path that surprises them in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: First time jump and some of that promised action. And a bit of a Mary Sue character, but it was needed to tie things together. How that works will be in the next chapter.
> 
> Disclaimer per usual – I do not own Star Wars or any aspect of the SW universe; just a fan with an idea. No profit here, just fun for me.

_Six Weeks Later_

Cassian crouches behind a wall as bricks explode above his head. He curses in Festian, something he’s been doing more lately trying to get himself into a mindset for a mission home, their next job. He’s glad his leg is mostly healed, but his hip is definitely complaining about the crouch. His ribs are aching but all right, but they won’t stay that way if he gets hit.

He’d been scouting their target, a small data warehouse on Garqi, in the capital of Pesktda. The planet is in the Cassander Sector on the Braxant Run, and they’d dropped off a cargo run here, too, earning a nice pile of credits.

They’d seen blessedly few stormtroopers as they scouted the last few days, but today, their luck ran out. He’d gotten separated from Baze and Jyn. Chirrut is on the ship with Bodhi, as they’d agreed for this particular mission. He’s almost entirely recovered, but with this planet under Imperial rule, Cassian made the call to keep him on Rogue One.

He taps his comm. “Jyn, where are you and Baze?” He twists up and returns fire over the wall before crouching back down, wincing. He’s going to be paying for this later.

When he hears her voice, he can tell that she’s running. “Did you have to mention that all of the jobs so far have been smooth? I mean, really, Cass, you know that’s bad luck.”

“Sorry, bella. Are you with Baze? I thought we agreed that would be a bad idea.” He grins, knowing that his old self would be appalled that they are literally teasing each other over comms during a firefight.

“I don’t know, it seems like the script is going poorly right now. Might as well improvise,” she responds, making his grin widen, but then it slides into a frown when he hears her grunt and then blaster fire and more grunts on the other side, followed by the sound of Baze’s repeater cannon. He’s relieved and amused when she says, “Karking hells, Baze. I had him.” She sounds exasperated and insists, “Cassian, I had him.”

He hears the buzz of another comm. “She didn’t have him, Major. We’re on our way to you. We have what we need.”

Cassian chuckles. Over the last several weeks and three other jobs, Baze has actually come out of his shell somewhat. He’s still gruff and doesn’t speak often, but he and Jyn have developed a camaraderie that surprises him, and Baze is surprisingly funny and wry in his rare observations.

A moment later, Cassian jumps at the sound of a series of loud explosions behind him, and he risks rising slightly to peer over the wall, only the top of his head visible. He rolls his eyes, spotting Jyn and Baze in the middle of the blasted out area, several dead stormtroopers around them. He makes a mental note to hide the grenades. Jyn and Baze seem overly fond of them, if this is anything to go by.

“Cass, come on,” Jyn calls over comms. “Baze and I will cover.”

“Affirmative. Coming now. Try not to blow me up.” Cassian peers up again, and all he sees are Jyn and Baze at the end of the row of buildings. He creeps along behind the wall until he has to come out. When he rises, he’s glad he does. There is a sniper creeping up on Jyn and Baze from the roof behind. Cassian whips his blaster up, yelling, “Down!” As Jyn and Baze drop, Cassian kills the sniper.

When he gets to Jyn and Baze, they’re both grinning. Cassian shakes his head, dust from the bricks that had exploded near him going everywhere. “What, were you saving that one for me?”

“No. But this was more fun than I expected it to be.” Jyn’s grin morphs into a smirk, reaching up and tousling his hair, displacing more dust. “Now stop commenting about smooth missions, all right?”

Cassian exchanges a glance with Baze, and the older man grumbles fondly. Cassian knows how the man feels – this side of Jyn has come out since they started this work, and it’s a dimension that amazes him, one that seemingly emerged when she finally felt safe and like she was actually part of something. “Do you have the data tapes?”

“Yes.” Baze nods and points to the padded bag he has across his body, looped over the cannon.

“And what’s the other bag?” He sees a large bag over Baze’s shoulder.

Jyn replies, “Caf beans.” At Cassian’s look, Jyn says, “They grow them here, Cass. We bought them – we didn’t steal them.” Before he can complain, Jyn passes him a separate data stick. “I’ve checked this. It’s clean. A university student spotted us yesterday, and she found us again today, passed this to me. I think we have a new contact here, and we made it at the kriffing coffee store, all right? She works there.”

He nods, impressed, and he lets the issue of shopping for caf beans pass for now. “Good. The university is a hotbed of resistance. We can use that. Now let’s get out of here. And enough with the grenades.”

Baze grunts. “Worked, didn’t it?”

They get back to the ship at the port, and Cassian still doesn’t understand the low number of stormtroopers in the area. He raises an eyebrow at Jyn. She nods. “Sweep for trackers?”

“Yes.” After nearly two months knowing her, he’s no longer surprised when she reads what he wants right away. It was jarring at first, but he can read her like a holonovel too, so he just figures that they’re really in tune.

He watches her as she goes, and he heads to the cockpit. “Baze, get the data tapes stored. We need them ready to drop to Cracken’s team.”

“Already on it, Major,” Baze replies.

Chirrut is in the cockpit sitting behind Bodhi, and Cassian takes the co-pilot’s seat. Cassian’s body is starting to ache a little, but he wants them in the air and at lightspeed before he relaxes. He looks at Bodhi. “Jyn is sweeping. Keep an eye on the entrance to the port.”

“All right,” Bodhi starts the sequence to take off. “Where are we headed once she’s done?”

Cassian thinks for a moment. “Generis via Ord Biniir, getting off of the Run, if Jyn doesn’t find any, Bastion if she does. We can drop it along the way, and then skip back down the Run. Even if there aren’t any trackers, maybe add a few extra jumps.”

“Got it. I’ll calculate both routes. I have some ideas.” Bodhi gets to work. He’s done by the time Jyn arrives back inside. Cassian hears the ramp closing, and he looks towards the inside of the ship.

Jyn approaches. “We’re clean. I even rechecked the data tapes and the stick from the student. Just crap security here. They may just be complacent. It’s an agricultural planet. They also may be focusing their security on the structure, the possible garrison, we saw being constructed. The new contact may be able to get us intel on that.” She takes her seat behind Cassian. She’s been practicing with the simulator, but she doesn’t fight to fly. She’s getting closer to being ready if it’s needed, though.

“Bodhi, take us out.” Cassian looks back at him. “Generis. When you drop near Ord Biniir, wait half an hour to be sure we’re clear, then jump again.”

Bodhi nods. “I calculated that jump and a few others. It’s strange to me that we got almost no attention on an Imperial-controlled world. We’re going to shoot out to Mygeeto, then somewhere between there and Dantooine, then to Ord Biniir, then to Generis, half hour break between each.”

Moments later, they’re in the air. Not long after, they’re jumping to lightspeed, and Bodhi turns in his chair. “Now the two of you take a break. Chirrut and I are going to meditate. It’ll take a while to get to Generis, and I’m good for the trip. I can easily sleep in my seat after I meditate with Chirrut. You two had a much bigger day than I did.” He shoos them towards the back.

Jyn smiles, and she stands, glad that Bodhi has grown more confident, more secure, in the last several weeks. He’s completely at home in the pilot’s chair, but they’ve also discovered that he has a keen mind for route planning. He’s been invaluable in their strategy sessions. She offers a hand to Cassian, and she frowns as he groans a little as she pulls him up. “Cass?”

“First real action. I’ll pay for it for a few days.” Cassian grimaces, but he squeezes Jyn’s hand. “I’m fine, bella.”

“No, you’re not. Hot shower, now.” She points to the back of the ship. He goes and she follows, squeezing Bodhi and then Chirrut both on the shoulder before leaving. Cassian is shrugging out of his jacket when she gets to their room, and she sees him wincing. “Stop. Let me help you.” She approaches, tossing her own jacket on the bed.

His shoulders slump, and he nods. “Thank you.”

She comes up behind him, reaching up and gently sliding the jacket off of him, putting it aside so they can clean it later. He unbuttons his shirt, and she slides that off of his shoulders, too, helping him avoid jostling his ribs before tossing the shirt in their dirty clothes bin. “Is it the hip or your chest?” She asks the question softly, running her hand gently down his spine.

He shivers a little at her soft touch. As much as he enjoys the Jyn who threw more grenades than needed and bought caf beans on a mission, this gentle, affectionate Jyn is his favorite.

“Chest. Side, really.” He turns and looks down at her. “I just had to twist a lot. My hip is a little sore from crouching, but not as touchy as the ribs.” He cups her cheek in his palm, leaning down slowly and kissing her. After a moment, he leans back. “I’m fine, bella, but I appreciate the worry and the help.”

“I know.” She leans up and kisses him again.

His ribs make leaning down painful a moment later, and he straightens. She still looks worried, so he tries to lighten the moment. “Caf beans, Jyn? Really?”

She shrugs and smiles sheepishly. “It never hurts to have a lot of them, and buying them made it easier to talk to the student who gave me the data stick. I’ll look at what’s on it while you shower. Do you need an anti-inflammatory?”

He wants to say no, but he’s trying to be as honest with her as he can, something his training pushes up against. He sighs. “Yes. But after the shower. That may help enough that I don’t need one.”

Unfazed, she just nods. “I’ll get one before I look at the data stick. Take your time, Cass. The hot water will help, and we can recycle it through the plumbing filtration system – you know it won’t be wasted.”

“I might like it better if you joined me.” He gives her a lingering look.

She shakes her head, gently propelling him towards their fresher. “Nice try, Major, but if you can’t stand up from a chair without hurting yourself, I’m fairly sure there’s not much that we could get up to in there that would feel good more than it hurts.” He turns, about to try to convince her, but she just says, “No. But maybe later, when we have time and can use that nice, soft bed.” She leans up and kisses him.

When she pulls back, he loops some of her hair behind her ear. “All right. I’ll be out in a while. And how did you manage to not get covered in dust?”

She snorts. “Baze is twice my size. Effective shield, I guess. He was as dusty as you.” She motions to the fresher door, then going out to get the data stick and the anti-inflammatory and some water for him as he slips into the fresher. She returns a few moments later, settling on the bed cross-legged with the data stick and a tablet after changing into a pair of soft leggings and a large soft shirt she bought two jobs ago. Plugging the data stick in, she begins to scroll through the information, getting engrossed in it. If this girl was trying to get their attention, she succeeded.

Nearly half a standard hour later, Cassian steps out of the fresher. It’s a testament to her comfort with him that she remains focused on her tablet, brow creased, biting her lip. He sees an empty ration bar wrap on the table and an unopened ration bar there for him, too.

He’s dressed in a soft pair of sleep pants and no shirt, just a towel around his neck, and he leans against the door frame, watching her. She’s gorgeous to him, all steel and soft curves, hair falling into her eyes. Not for the first time, he’s amazed that he’s here with her, amazed that they found each other, amazed that she said yes and that they have the freedom they’ve achieved.

He shifts, and she finally looks up, surprised. “Feel better?” The soft look in her eyes is one that he knows is reserved for him, and it never fails to send a shiver through him.

He nods, coming to the bed. Even so, he picks up the anti-inflammatory that he sees on the night table next to the ration bar, throwing it back with some water from the bottle by the bed. “Yes. Still stiff, but better.” He settles next to her, his right leg curled up like hers, but his left leg stretched out. “Anything good?” He unwraps the bar and takes a bite.

“Yes. This girl has been paying attention. She has a lot here about the troop movements, pulling mostly out of the city and, like I said, out to the garrison. She notes that the student group she’s a part of has scaled back their obvious work, bombings and such, for now. I think they figured out that they could gather information more easily without a buckethead on every corner.” She passes him the tablet.

He studies it for a few minutes, scrolling through as he eats his ration bar. Even as he does, he can feel fatigue pulling at him. Between the action today, the hot shower, and the meds, his energy is flagging. He finishes his bar and hands her the tablet back, gingerly moving to stretch out on the bed and closing his eyes as his head hits the pillow. He’s frustrated that he tires so easily, but he knows that will eventually improve.

Almost like she can read his mind, she flips on the light above the bed before going to the door and turning off the overhead light. She crawls into the bed next to him, moving close to him, grabbing the tablet again. Once she covers him with the blanket, she flips the light out and settles down next to him with the tablet in her hand. She curls up on her right side, her back to him, and she grins when his arms snake out and pulls her flush to him, also on his right side.

She lets him hold her, and she murmurs, “Will the tablet bother you?”

He nuzzles his face into her neck. “No. This is all right?”

“This is perfect. Sleep, Cass.” She starts to read through the information again after adding, “I won’t be far behind you. The adrenaline crash is catching up with me.”

It’s not a lie. The fatigue is seeping into her bones, and she can tell when it claims him, as his breathing evens out and his arms relax slightly. She releases a breath. She didn’t tell Cassian, but she’d been terrified when they’d gotten separated today. Baze had kept her calm, reminding her that he’d been on his own almost all the time before. She knows that’s true, but it doesn’t change the fact that she recognizes that she’s dependent on him now – she needs him, his steadiness, his belief in her. His love.

She puts the tablet on the table and turns over in his arms, examining his face in the dim light from the tablet. He’s only five years older than she is, but she knows they both look older than they are. Neither of them has had an easy road, and it shows.

For him, it has been even more pronounced the last few weeks. She knows he’s worried about going to Fest, if his nightmares and tossing and turning while muttering in Festian are anything to go by. But when he’s like this, relaxed in sleep, all of that drifts away from him, and he looks more like the twenty-six year old that he is.

She wants to run her hand through his hair, but she worries that it might wake him up. Instead, she just snuggles into him as the light on the tablet goes out, automatically shutting down. She gently snakes her arm over his waist, her instinct to protect him just as strong as his to protect her.

Today ended fine, but she’s going to talk to him about staying together better, especially when they start taking Chirrut off of the ship with them. Her eyes drift closed as the rhythmic beat of his heart against her lulls her to sleep. Even as she drifts off, she mentally promises him that he won’t get stranded alone on Fest. She’s going to stick to him like glue, as she knows this next one is personal.

X X X X X X X X

A week later, Cassian watches in the viewport as they get closer and closer to Fest. He feels himself freezing up inside, appropriate given the climate of his home world. Fest is inhospitable on a good day, barely tolerable on a bad one. He must be taut with tension, because he feels Jyn’s hand briefly squeeze his shoulder as she asks, “You all right?”

“Yes.” He looks back at her, and he sees that she looks dubious at best. Shaking his head slightly, he adds, “I’m fine, bella.”

She nods, sitting back in her chair and exchanging a look with Bodhi. At Jyn’s urging, he’d shared some of the details of his history with the team. They are rallying fully around him but keeping their distance. She’s happy that their found family is proving that they understand more than they say – Cassian likes the support, but he doesn’t want to have people hovering or pushing him.

Of course, that doesn’t stop her – she’s as fully behind his walls as he is behind hers. He tried to tell her he needed to work alone on Fest, but she wasn’t having it. They’ve adopted a cover, Jeron and Lana Madas, recently married, here to allow Jeron, Cassian’s middle name, to visit the former home of is extended family and to trade some supplies provided to them by Travia’s people. They know it’s a risk to use Cassian’s own name, but it’s Festian and works with the cover.

The planet is under Imperial control, but like Garqi, the troops seem to be focused in one part of the planet. She and Cassian both want to know what’s going on, but their only assignment here is to get information and make a contact if possible. Even so, Baze and Chirrut are staying with Bodhi on Rogue One. This may be the first of several trips here, as they won’t stay long. They’re acting as traders with a leg up here due to Cassian’s facility with his native language.

They’d gotten a message from Cracken, and he said that they need to just confirm for now that something is going on there. The Rebels think there is a large weapons facility, but they aren’t sure where it is. They’re going to spend some time in bars in the largest city on the densely populated world to see what they can find out. Jyn knows that Cassian is hoping they can get in and out fast, make a solid contact on this first trip.

One thing Jyn has been working on is her own accent – toning it down to something flatter and less inner core. She has actually been mimicking Bodhi to some extent. His accent is similar to hers, but less distinctly inner core.

They decided that her backstory also borrows from her own life, that her parents were laborers who took farming work on Lah’mu. It made her heart stick in her throat a little, but she does like the idea. The story is that she met Cassian, or Jeron, when she took work on trading ships. It’s simple and straightforward, easy to remember.

She peers around Cassian to watch their approach, and she cringes. “Kriffing hells, that looks cold.” It’s nothing but cities, ice, and snowy mountains in front of them.

“It is,” Cassian replies grimly. “Literally the whole planet. It’s a good thing we got these sweaters for the weather.” He refers to the heavy high-necked sweaters they both wear over several underlayers.

Jyn settles again as they make their approach, landing in a spaceport at the edge of town. Their callsign for the ship is the Phoenix. For now, they are only Rogue One with each other and the Rebellion. Once they land, Jyn and Cassian head to the back to pull on their cold-weather gear and grab bags for an overnight, probably at an inn in a district that has a small commercial area for traders.

After making sure she has her gloves in her pocket, Jyn wraps a scarf around her neck and shrugs into her parka, and she smiles faintly as Cassian shrugs into his blue jacket with the fur-lined hood. He spots her look, and it distracts him from his brooding for a moment. “What?”

She shrugs, slipping her truncheon into a hidden pocket in her coat. As traders, they’re fine wearing small blasters, but she has her truncheon and a knife concealed. “I like that coat. It may be the only true good association I have with that trip to Jedha.”

He nods. “Mine is watching you take down those stormtroopers with your truncheon, but I have two.” At her questioning look, he goes on, “When you rescued that child during the fight with the Partisans in the street.”

She shakes her head, appalled to feel herself tear up. “It didn’t do any good, did it? The child and her mother are both dead now.”

He comes to stand in front of her. “Bella, that doesn’t matter. It was selfless. It was the moment that started to change my view of you. It was the moment I began to see you, not your file.”

She looks up at him, and he brushes a kiss to her cheek and nods to the door. He heads to the ramp, her close on his heels, to get the goods they have to sell. Their cargo is easy, tech chips needed by a local business, and Baze has them ready at the ramp. Jyn looks up at him. “Two days. If we don’t check in tonight, call us. If you don’t talk to us by the next night, get the hells out of here.”

“I don’t like it.” Baze grumbles.

Cassian looks ready to argue, but Chirrut comes between the two of them, placing a gentle hand on each man’s arm. “All will be well, Baze.” He turns his head towards Cassian. “Major, all will be well. The Force is with you, and you are with the Force. I sense that good is on your side. We have our instructions.” He inclines his head and steps back from them both.

Cassian doesn’t say anything, but he takes a large bag from Baze and puts his on his shoulder. Jyn reaches out and squeezes Chirrut’s arm. “Thank you. We’ll talk to you all tonight.”

As he hands her the second bag of goods, Baze grunts, “Be careful, Little Sister. I know your husband there hid all of the grenades.”

Jyn smirks. “You say that like I can’t figure out where he hides things.” She gives him a wave. “See you tomorrow.”

Her smirk drops as the cold air in the spaceport hits her, and she can hear Baze laughing as the ramp closes behind them. Her eyes widen as she looks up at Cassian. “Here, Lana,” he murmurs, covering her braided hair with a close-fitting knit hat. “Keep your head warm,” he advises, “It helps.”

When he’s done with her hat, he slips one on his own head and pulls on heavy fur-lined leather gloves. She pulls on a similar pair, and she pulls her hood up over the hat. “Thank you, Jeron.” She tries out his name in Bodhi’s flat accent, and he nods approvingly.

They head out of the port, him in the lead. He stops and asks the man at the entry point for directions, slipping into flawless Festian. He motions to Jyn then, and they exit the port, Jyn staying close to Cassian. The crowds are dense and bustling, but they’re also slightly subdued, making Jyn wonder what’s wrong. She quietly asks, “What’s going on here? This is a quiet crowd.”

He shrugs slightly. “Years of oppression, maybe.” He doesn’t say the words flippantly, and that makes them even more depressing to her.

As they walk, she can feel the tension rolling off of him in waves. Eventually, it becomes too much for her. “What are you thinking? And can I help?”

Cassian sighs at Jyn’s soft words. His eyes sweep the area, making sure they aren’t near anyone else. He sees that they’re clear, but he isn’t sure how to answer. He’s somewhere between nauseated and sad that this world is so much less alive than he remembers as a child and relieved that it doesn’t stir memories. He finally replies, “It’s the same and yet very different. It’s more Imperial and less Festian, I guess.” He shakes his head. “I can’t decide how I feel about that.”

It’s not entirely a lie, but the full truth is that the sadness is winning. Even with the gray and the cold, Fest always had color before – not from the planet, but from the people. He reaches out and takes Jyn’s hand, comforted by the contact even through the layers of their gloves. If she finds it odd or concerning, he can’t tell. She just squeezes his had with hers and sticks with him as they walk.

They make their way to the shop where they’re selling their cargo, him not letting go until they get there. Once their legitimate business is done, they locate an inn they like, on a secluded, quiet street, but with several exits they can see. They book a room, dump their overnight bags, and head out to find a bar.

From there, they have a routine. Sit at the bar or in a cluster of bar tables, talking quietly, mentioning their travels and commenting on the Imperial presence, hoping to draw attention in a subtle way. Cassian assured her the night before that this way is highly effective, though he usually had to do this with bartenders in the past.

They’re both surprised at how little attention the stormtroopers they see now and then pay to them. They’re either really blending in, or the stormtroopers just don’t care.

After half an hour at their fifth bar of the night, Jyn is losing hope. She sips at an ale that Cassian promised her is decent, and she watches him talk to the bartender while she sits at the table they took in a crowded area. It’s getting late – this will be their last stop of the night – and the bar is clearing out ahead of the curfew imposed by the Imps.

She catches movement to her right, and she sees a young woman, maybe Jyn’s age or slightly older, approaching. The woman gets to the table and motions to a chair. “May I sit?”

Jyn manages to mask her surprise at the woman’s Core accent, probably Coruscanti, and she laconically waves at the chair. “Go ahead.”

“I’m Kaia Gullen. What is your name?” The woman eyes her. Jyn notes that her coloring and eyes are not in line with the people here with their dark hair and eyes and olive complexions. This woman looks more like Jyn, to be honest.

Jyn doesn’t blink or hesitate at the question. “Lana Madas.”

“Nice to meet you. I think I heard your companion say that you are traders? I was near him at the bar a moment ago.” The woman’s eyes sweep to Cassian in a way that makes Jyn’s eyes narrow.

“Husband.” The woman starts at the word, and Jyn notes that she looks a little abashed. “And yes, we’re traders, often just cargo transport.”

The woman swallows and says, “He speaks Festian. Well.”

Jyn eyes her. “His family is part Festian. He’s spoken it since he was a young child.” She sticks to their cover, truth interwoven into the legend. “You are not from here.”

It’s not a question, but the woman replies, “Correct. I grew up on Coruscant. I came here on a science team.” She gives Jyn a meaningful look, and Jyn feels something prickle at the back of her neck, sensing that Cassian is watching her. She glances at him, and he gives her an encouraging nod.

“A science team?” Jyn doesn’t ask the question anxiously, phrases it more like small talk.

“Yes.” The woman looks around, and Jyn almost admonishes her that she’s being far too obvious. “I think I know who you are, Lana, know your family.”

This time Jyn can’t stop the surprise that crosses her face, but she schools it quickly. “That’s unlikely. My family was only on Coruscant for a very short time.”

Her expression must have alerted Cassian, as he finishes with the bartender and begins to come their way. The woman, unperturbed but with a little anxiety, says, “On Eadu.”

Jyn feels the world fall out from under her, and Cassian drops into the chair next to her. With a congenial expression that makes it look like they’re just having a friendly conversation, Cassian says, “Just what are you playing at, Miss?” As he speaks, his voice mostly cordial and disinterested, he wraps an arm protectively around Jyn, and Jyn wills herself to relax.

She smiles and laughs as if Cassian said something funny, but she replies, “I’m not playing at all, Jeron, and it’s Kaia. I recognize your wife. We had a mutual acquaintance.” She focuses on Jyn, her eyes softening, and she quietly says, “I’ve only seen a picture of you as a child that your father had, but you aren’t that different now. He asked my help at the same time as the pilot. I said no but promised not to turn them in.”

Jyn was somewhat prepared for the woman’s words, though the last part caught her by surprise. “And you said no, apparently. Why no, why didn’t you tell, and what changed to make you want to talk to us now?”

Cassian leans in and drops a kiss to Jyn’s temple. “And why are you here on Fest?”

The woman’s face falls slightly before she schools it back to something blandly friendly. “For your first questions, I was loyal. My family was well off, we were all scientists, treated well, celebrated even. I specialize in development of droids and AIs like my mother did, my brother went into technology security like my father. But I was starting to question what we were doing. I lacked the courage of conviction the pilot had, but I had a feeling they were doing the right thing.”

Cassian picked up on something. “They were scientists? What are they now?” The question is direct but not harsh, and Jyn takes his hand and moves closer to him.

Kaia looks at the table. “They are dead. My bother and my father were in the citadel, the data tower that was destroyed. They only evacuated the officers, the soldiers. My mother was so devastated, so heartbroken. She went out on the terrace of our apartment, which was in the very upper levels, and she leapt off of it.”

Cassian and Jyn exchange a look, and Cassian gets up and goes to the bar, getting two very stiff shots for each of them. The bartender makes a lascivious remark about getting a third, and Cassian has to will himself not to respond negatively. Instead, he leers at the table and shoots the bartender what he knows is a smarmy smile.

Back at the table, the woman looks stricken, and Jyn quietly admonishes her, “Push it down, Kaia.”

The woman nods, and she relaxes into the chair. “Sorry.”

Jyn shakes her head and forces a smile. “It’s fine. We both understand.”

Cassian returns with a small tray with six shots on it. He says, “We have to drink them, and Jyn, take Kaia’s hand after the first one. The bartender made assumptions, and I encouraged him. He thinks we’re getting you drunk with a goal, Kaia, which is a good cover.”

The woman blushes lightly, but then she giggles and picks up one of the shot glasses, throwing it back. Jyn and Cassian do the same. Luckily, they both ate before this bar, and they’ve both only been sipping at drinks in each bar. As it is, the alcohol burns going down, and she reaches out, taking the woman’s hand. She cocks her head and asks, “So, we can get why you might want to change teams.”

The woman nods, her eyes darkening. “They’re monsters who only care about one thing – power.”

“All right, Kaia.” As he responds, Cassian smiles in a way that makes Jyn have to fight rolling her eyes. “So why here, why Fest? It’s not like you blend in well.”

“Neither does your wife, Jeron.” She smiles prettily.

He snorts. “But she’s very obviously with me, and I definitely blend in well. Why are you here, Kaia?”

She swallows hard and leans in, picking up her second shot and throwing it back. “Like I said, AI and droid development. We’re working on pulling together new armor technology with new droids.”

“Where?” Jyn squeezes her hand, taking her second shot with the other, throwing it back.

The woman winks at Jyn, and she does the same to Cassian, grabbing his second shot and drinking it herself. She hands Cassian what looks like a card key, her fingers lingering on his as she passes it over. “See you at my place?” She moves around the table, releasing Jyn’s hand and runs her own hand up Jyn’s arm, leaning in and whispering in Jyn’s ear, “It’s a datacard, not a key. Password is justice.”

Jyn smirks up at her as Kaia pulls back. “See you soon, love.”

Cassian just leers, and the sleazy look on his face is so out of place that she’s stunned. To hide it, she leans in and nuzzles his neck. “Can we get the kriff out of here now?”

He chuckles and slides his hand down her side, squeezing her hip. “Yes. Now.”

They rise, and Cassian exchanges another leering grin with the bartender. When they get outside, it’s even colder than it was earlier. Cassian helps her tuck the hat down, and they both put on their gloves, following Kaia down the street so that anyone watching from inside the bar would assume they’re going to her place for some late night fun.

Once they get far enough from the bar, they peel off, never looking back at Kaia. Eventually, they duck into an alley, quickly scanning the card with a hand unit they have. It’s clean, no tracker, so Cassian pockets the card and the scanner unit, slips his arm around Jyn, and guides them towards their inn.

They get inside the building moments before curfew. The man at the desk ignores them completely, but Cassian makes a show of kissing Jyn’s neck as they climb the stairs to their top-floor, three-flights-up room.

It’s a relief when they close the door, but they both stay silent, pulling out a pair of scanners, sweeping the entire room for bugs and tracking signals. Finding neither, they both relax, stripping off their coats and other cold weather gear and sinking down onto the edge of the bed. Cassian looks at her. “You all right?”

She snorts. “Isn’t that supposed to be me asking you?”

“Seriously, bella, how are you?” Cassian takes her hand, squeezing it.

“I don’t know. I’m still processing. This was so strange.” She shakes her head. “What were the odds of that?”

Cassian shrugs. “Probably nearly incalculable. But maybe not. We need to look at the card. There may be an explanation.”

“Travia said she doesn’t have a contact here.” Jyn counters. “How could this woman know?”

“Travia doesn’t have anyone here. I’m wondering, though, where our new friend was before she came here. We can’t really review the card with what we have here – we’ll have to scan it on the ship tomorrow.” He gets up, moving to his coat and pulling a comm out of the lining. “We need to check in.”

She nods. “Probably best signal by the window.”

“Yes,” he agrees, heading there. He slips the comm into his ear and stands near the window, activating it. Jyn comes up behind him and wraps her arms around his waist, visible like he is, making it look like he’s talking to her and not someone over a comm. “Phoenix, you there?”

The comm scratches, and Baze answers. “We are. You two all right?”

Cassian replies, “We are. Made progress and finished the deal. We’ll be back in the morning. Curfew is on. Is everything quiet there?”

Bodhi’s voice comes on. “Yes. Not even any checks so far, but we have the papers if we get boarded for inspection.”

“Good. You all have a good rest tonight.”

“You too. Tell Lana good night,” Bodhi replies.

Cassian smiles, impressed that Bodhi remembered. “Will do. Good night to you as well.”

The transmission ends, and Cassian looks out over the low rooftops typical here. It’s so cold, and he can tell that there is an ice storm coming tomorrow. He figures he’ll tell Jyn that in the morning – at least the weather here is predictable for someone who spent any of their youth here.

He sighs lightly, still looking out over the city, his eyes trailing up towards the mountains. “My turn, Cass. Are you all right?”

He turns in her arms. “Yes. It’s strange. It’s home, but it’s not. So much has changed. The people here used to have so much color, so much life. They don’t anymore. It’s hard to see, but it’s also unsurprising. How much Imperial rule can a world really survive without losing itself?”

She leans up, kissing him. Then, she steps back. “I need to get ready for bed. All right if I use the fresher first?”

He nods. “Of course.” He’s grateful – he can tell that she knows he needs a moment, and he appreciates that she’s giving it to him. As she disappears into the fresher with her bag, he pulls his sweater off and kicks off his boots. He douses all of the lights in the room save a small one by the bed, and he goes back to the window.

His gut churns as he observes the place that was once home. It occurs to him that Rogue One is home now, that next to Jyn is where home is. He’ll never stop mourning what Fest was, but he just has to hope that one day it’ll be out from under the heel of the Empire and be able to reclaim itself.

Crossing his arms over his chest, he leans against the wall by the window. He snorts softly. He is incredibly not nostalgic about freezing his ass off all the kriffing time. If they ever settle somewhere, if this war ever ends, he wants it to be somewhere warm. He hears the fresher door open, and he looks back to see Jyn there in a long-sleeved soft shirt and leggings, and she looks like she’s freezing. He coaxes her out of the fresher, pulling the covers back for her.

She snuggles into the bed, curling herself into a little ball. He steps over to the heating unit in the corner, and he bumps it up. They’ll charge them extra for using more heat, but he doesn’t care. He comes back to the bed, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to her lips before slipping into the fresher himself.

Jyn watches him go. She’s worried about him, but she can tell that, like her, he’s processing. She’s all right with that. In less time than she took, he comes back out of the fresher in a long-sleeved pullover shirt and soft sleep pants. They’d usually sleep in their clothes on a hostile world, but they’ve not seen any evidence that they’re being followed or are at risk. As on Garqi, it feels like their focus is elsewhere, the security perfunctory at best.

He douses the light and slips into the bed by her side. She curls into him, seeking his warmth. After a moment, he says, “Thank you, bella, for giving me a little time.”

She nods against his shoulder. “Same to you.” She yawns, and her yawn triggers his, making her laugh. “Good night, Jeron.”

He pulls her close. “Good night, Lana. I love you.” Instead of an answer, he hears a soft, snuffling snore, the day and the drinks catching up with her. He shivers a little, the room still cool despite the over-taxed heater. When he falls asleep, it’s with a picture in his mind of a little house on the edge of a jungle, Jyn waving to him from the porch as the warm air swirls around them.


End file.
